Change
by 263Adder
Summary: In the aftermath of X-Men First Class Moira MacTaggert struggles to regain her memories but perhaps with the help of Nick Fury she may come closer to discovering the truth.
1. Chapter 1

After her memory loss Moira was shunned by most CIA officials. The only person who really stuck with her was Levene but that was because he was now one of the few people who'd met Charles Xavier and both remembered it and was still alive.

However he didn't have the answers to her biggest questions. Why had she left the country? And how did she loose all her memories of the case for seemingly no reason. As soon as her memory loss became clear her supervisors had sent her off for multiple tests all of which revealed no brain trauma. At first Moira thought it was psychological until Levene showed her the tapes.

The first showed her in a meeting with multiple CIA officials. She introduced Charles Xavier and his sister Raven and revealed them both to be a mind reader and a shape shifter, a fact the tape seemed to show Moira already knew. Levene explained how they'd been on a case in Las Vegas and she'd seen something that had convinced her she needed to go to Oxford to meet this Charles Xavier. What happened while she was over there however was a mystery to Levene.

A briefing from McCone also revealed she'd been in Cuba, defending the "mutants" as they called them. They continued to ask her questions about it regardless of her memory loss. It seemed inconceivable to anyone that this could actually happen.

However when everyone finally accepted that she remembered very little of what happened – little flashes had started to come back to her but nothing clear – all her hard work at establishing her position in the CIA appeared to have been undone. Even though she hadn't exactly gotten people to like her before there had been a level of begrudging respect. She'd proven herself multiple times to be capable of more than secretarial work. But now wherever she went there were whispers. About the hormonal woman who had fallen in love with a "mutant".

She tried to convince herself that she would eventually be able to re-establish her credibility amongst the ranks especially since whenever Levene heard someone bad mouthing her he would launch into a long winded speech about her patriotism and bravery. But they would just laugh and say she was protecting freaks.

It wasn't until a few months later that the shit hit the fan.

"MacTaggert." She looked up from her chair outside McCone's office and went inside shutting the door behind her.

"Sir." Something told her not to sit down. It didn't look like she'd be here long.

"I've decided to pull you and Levene off the case." They'd been investigating a man with potential communist affiliations for the past three weeks.

"But sir." She started. "We've nearly closed it."

"I just think you would be better on another assignment." He said in his usual condescending attitude.

"Sir…"

"Especially after what you went though. To be frank MacTaggert we've been discussing it and we think it would be in your best interest to take a leave of absence."

"Sir…"

He cut her off again. "Just take a few months."

"I'm perfectly capable of doing my job."

"It's nothing to be ashamed of Moira."

She tried not to cringe. She hated it when they called her Moira. They said it in the same tone they did when they were talking to the secretaries. Like they were talking to a child, like she was inferior.

"I never said I was ashamed." It was coming back to the kiss she could sense it.

"Of course not. But…" He paused and took a minute. "Given what you went through we thought it would be appropriate for you to have some time off. To help you deal with your _feelings_." Feelings. He said it like it was a disease.

"I don't have any feelings about the case sir. I can't even remember it."

"You never know, some R&amp;R might help you with your memory loss."

She took a deep breath. "Sir, don't drop us off this case."

"I'm sorry Moira but I really think it's for the best."

She was costing Levene his career with all this bullshit. Every time they got something close to a good case it would be snatched from them before they could close it. And they always used the excuse that it was because she wasn't in her right mind.

"No _I'm_ sorry, _sir_. I really didn't want to have to do this."

"Do what?"

"I am an excellent agent. And one day when you realize what a misogynistic ass you are you're really going to regret this."

"MacTaggert…"

"But you really leave me no choice." She continued to talk over him. "You can leave Levene on the case. I quit."

She slammed her gun and badge on the desk.

"Moira." He said with a smile. "You don't have to quit. I told you we'll give you leave. Paid leave. And you can come back as soon as you feel ready. We'd have to ease you back in of course, maybe put you on desk duty for a little while…"

She shook her head. Would they ever change?

"I. Quit." She said slowly before turning on her heel and walking out the door.

There was nothing important at her desk and she wouldn't give the other guys the satisfaction of seeing her pack up her stuff. She was going to be better than they ever would. She just didn't know how yet.

Making her way into the break room she collected her bag and purse and made her way straight to the parking garage. She'd talk to Levene later, he'd gone home already.

As she shoved her key in the car she stiffened as she heard footsteps nearby before shaking herself off and throwing her bag in the backseat. However before she could get in a voice stopped her.

"Moira MacTaggert." A man called out from behind her.

She turned and saw him leaning on a stone pillar with four men in suits spread out around them. "Yes." She said trying to project confidence in her voice while she internally cursed herself for not having her back up weapon with her today.

"My name is Nick Fury. What do you know about S.H.I.E.L.D?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Moira MacTaggert?"

She was currently sat outside Nick Fury's office, a high ranking official of the CIA.

She got up and was led into the room.

Fury looking out of the window but turned as he heard her enter.

"Please take a seat."

"Thank you."

"I heard you recently quit the CIA."

"Yesterday sir."

"You don't work here anymore MacTaggert. You don't have to call me sir." He said with a smile.

"Of course." She tried to smile back but she felt too uncomfortable.

"Why did you resign might I ask?"

Resign was a nice way of putting it given she'd called her boss a 'misogynistic ass'.

"I didn't feel like I could make any more progress within the organization."

"I agree with you." He said sitting in his chair. "The CIA is meant to deal with all external threats to the US. But if anything recent events seem to have proven that the CIA is perhaps not the best equipped to deal with these…shall we call them _uncommon_ affairs."

"I really can't comment on that."

"On the contrary. At the moment I think you're one of the few people who can pass judgment on the situation."

"I presume you know what happened?"

"Regarding your interactions with Mr. Xavier?" She nodded. "I was briefed."

"Then you'll know that I have no memory of the event."

"Yes."

She leant back in her chair. "I really don't understand why I'm here."

"You're here MacTaggert because I have an offer for you."

"I'm not coming back to the CIA."

"I didn't ask you to."

"Then why…"

He held up his hand. "I liaison with a group called S.H.I.E.L.D. Have you heard of them before?"

"No."

"S.H.I.E.L.D was established after World War Two and is a subsidiary of the United Nations."

"What does S.H.I.E.L.D stand for?"

"Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-Enforcement Division."

"That's quite a mouthful."

"Hence the acronym."

She bit back a smile.

"S.H.I.E.L.D was established in the wake of what was called the Super Soldiers Initiative. You may not have heard of it but you may have heard of Captain America and an organization known as Hydra."

"Captain America is a fictional character." She said with a scoff. Her dad had the comics and had told her about the stage shows back when he served in the army.

"Aren't we all?" He said calmly. "I know a lot of people would doubt you're story MacTaggert. Are you really so quick to dismiss something just as fantastical, just because you haven't seen it with your own eyes?"

He paused watching the words sink in before continuing. "S.H.I.E.L.D is our answer to dealing with the unexplainable. The things that organisations such as the CIA have already proven themselves unable to deal with."

"Excuse me for asking but if you really think the CIA is so incapable, why do you still work here?"

"I act as a liaison between S.H.I.E.L.D and other US agencies."

"I've never heard of you before."

"My operations are usually kept off the books so to speak." He grinned again. "And I was ever so sorry not to be a part of the Mutants Division however there were some other pressing matters I had to attend to."

"More important than a potential World War Three?" She said sceptically.

"Yes." His tone had a sort of finality to it that stopped her from asking.

"However your work has impressed us."

"S.H.I.E.L.D?"

He nodded. "We want you to join us."

"As an agent?"

"Yes."

"I think I've had enough of working for nefarious organisations to last me a lifetime."

"S.H.I.E.L.D is very different from the CIA MacTaggert. Trust me on that."

"Why should I?"

"Because I can help you."

"Help me how?"

"Help you get your memories back."

She froze.

"You can do that?"

"Let's just say we have access to a lot of resources." Fury said with an air of satisfaction. "So MacTaggert, do we have a deal?"


	3. Chapter 3

Moira stood in the training room trying to not feel intimidated. After being brought into S.H.I.E.L.D Fury had requested she start training with another agent. When she asked what she needed to be trained in he just said "Everything." So that was helpful.

Of course if she'd known that Fury would be sending in Peggy Carter she probably would've been too scared to even show up.

After her briefing she'd been sent to an introduction course with twenty other something recruits – and amazingly she wasn't the only woman there, maybe S.H.I.E.L.D was the place for her after all. The course involved a very detailed history of S.H.I.E.L.D's foundation in which Carter had been one of the first members and with Howard Stark, Nick Fury and Rick Stoner had essentially built the organisation.

"Agent MacTaggert." Carter said as she approached and stretched out her hand. "Agent Fury told me to meet you here."

"Hello. Agent Carter." She responded and shook her hand.

"I assume you took basic training at the FBI?"

"Yes. I got one of the highest scores."

"I guess the other agents didn't like that?" She said with a knowing smile.

"No ma'am."

"Agent." Carter corrected.

"Of course."

"Shall we get started? I thought we'd begin with relative strength training."


	4. Chapter 4

The table felt cold beneath her and Moira struggled not to move. The man had already explained that it would be best if she laid still.

Instead she tried to distract herself by looking up at the blue pulsing light above her. She had the room to herself, the doctors sat on the other side of the glass window.

The speakers crackled a little before becoming clear. "Agent MacTaggert? We need you to focus on the light and stay as still as you can. Try to keep your eyes open as much as possible."

"Okay." She said more to herself than anyone.

Fury had assured her that S.H.I.E.L.D had access to some of the most brilliant minds in the world but Moira still remained sceptical that any of this would actually work. The light was soothing though she felt her eyelids growing heavy and struggled to keep them open like they asked. Although relative strength training had originally sounded interesting it turned out it just meant a lot of pull ups.

She jerked up as she felt a strong breeze on her face.

"Agent MacTaggert?"

The door was still shut.

"Sorry, just thought I felt something."

There was a brief silence before they responded. "That's good. It may be a memory, focus on the light again."

She settled back down on the table and with the blue pulsating above her the drowsiness soon returned.

The air blew across her face again and this time it was accompanied by the smell of flowers. She managed to remain on the table this time but it still caught her off guard.

Gravel was crunching under foot. She wasn't alone but she couldn't make out who was with her.

And then the memory hit her. It was him. Charles. They were walking together around a mansion – his mansion. They were talking about him opening a school for mutants. And she was promising not to tell anyone about it – why would she do that?

She leaned down to kiss him.

This time she couldn't help herself from sitting up.

"Agent MacTaggert?"

"I think I remember…"


	5. Chapter 5

Left, right double jab, left, right, left double jab.

"Moira." Peggy said. "You're tensing your shoulders again."

She felt a pair of hands land on her shoulders and tug down.

"There."

She hit again and it felt better, stronger. "Thanks."

Peggy moved around to the other side of the bag and looked her over.

"Is there something you want to talk about?"

"No."

"You look tense."

"I'm just focused."

"No you're angry."

"What are you telling me anger and punching don't mix?"

"Anger will only get you so far. Strength comes from clarity of mind." It was philosophical pieces of crap like that that Charles used to spew when he was training one of the kids. "Moira." Peggy said and put her hand on her arm. "Tell me. That's an order."

She let her hands fall to her sides and took a deep breath. "You've read my file."

"Yes."

"You know about my memory loss."

"Yes."

"I got my memory back."

"I see. Do you remember anything about the people you were with?"

"Yes."

"Do you remember Cuba?"

Moira resisted the urge to reach for her neck. "Yes."

"Do you know why you lost your memories?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

She paused. She'd promised Charles not to tell them anything.

"Was it Xavier? I read he could control minds."

It wasn't like he hadn't betrayed her trust. "Yes."

"Have you told Fury or Director Stoner?"

"I have an appointment to see Fury this afternoon. He was coming anyway to see how I was adjusting."

"He's called me a few times to talk about your training. He seems pleased with your progression."

Moira pursed her lips. "Can I ask you something?" She'd been wanting to ask for a while and since they were being so frank now it seemed like just as good a time as any.

"You can. Ask that is." Peggy said with a sly smile playing on her lips.

"Why are you training me?"

"Agent Fury asked me to."

"But why?"

Peggy's brow seemed to burrow in confusion. Either she didn't know what she was talking about or she was a very good actress. The latter was probably true regardless.

"I mean, all the other new agents have been trained at the Academy together. They all have one training class. Why have I been assigned to you?"

She didn't respond.

"Not that I don't like you being my S.O. but it just seems odd. Why do I get special treatment? Is it because I worked with mutants? Is Fury, or Stoner, or whoever is in charge here planning on using my relationship with these people for something?"

The small smile on Peggy's face returned. "Tell me something Agent MacTaggert. What does S.H.I.E.L.D stand for?"

"Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-Enforcement Division." She answered automatically. It had taken her days to remember it all. Who came up with such a ridiculously long winded name? Evidently someone really wanted the name to spell out S.H.I.E.L.D.

"Exactly. Supreme Headquarters, International _Espionage_, Law-_Enforcement_ Division. Did it never occur to you to treat an organisation that actually has the word espionage in its title with a little caution?"


	6. Chapter 6

"Agent MacTaggert." Agent Fury said warmly as she stepped into the office. "I want you to meet someone."

She'd been so preoccupied with her thoughts that she hadn't even noticed the other man in the room currently stood at the bar helping himself to a drink.

"Agent MacTaggert I'd like to introduce you to Rick Stoner, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D."

The man turned and setting his drink on the table moved to shake her hand.

"Director Stoner."

"Agent MacTaggert. Nick here has been telling me some interesting things about you. It seems we're very lucky to have you onboard."

"Really?"

"He said you were a part of the short lived Mutant Division. That must have been something?"

"Actually Rick MacTaggert here has a bit of a memory shortage in relation to the Mutant Division. Seems that our Charles Xavier decided to have a little tinker in her brain." Fury cut in. Moira gnawed her lip.

"We've been working on restoring her memories, MacTaggert agreed to some tests in our science facility."

"I see." Stoner said picking up his drink and taking a sip. "Have they made any progress?"

She nodded. "Actually they've been very successful, all my memories have come back."

"When?" Fury asked sharply.

"Yesterday, I informed Agent Carter…" well more like Agent Carter deduced "…and then made an appointment to see you."

"Very good. I'll have to pay a visit to our scientists and see how they did it." Stoner said warmly. "Well then Agent MacTaggert, what can you tell us about the mutants?"


	7. Chapter 7

Moira reclined in her seat as the plane prepared to descend. Stoner had asked her to accompany a S.H.I.E.L.D 'welcome committee' (as Stoner so fondly called them) who had been assigned to try and establish a relationship with Charles Xavier and any other mutants who had stayed with him.

Fury had given Moira a certain level of discretion and said that she did not have to interact with the mutants directly but rather act as a consultant for the team. Moira quickly pointed out that Xavier would know she was there as soon as he read the other S.H.I.E.L.D agents minds but she was still rather relieved that she wouldn't have to see him. After all he'd wiped her mind for a reason, to keep organisations like S.H.I.E.L.D from showing up on his doorstep. And if he'd just asked her to be quiet rather than invading her mind she might have felt guiltier about her role in this, although she did have a certain queasy feeling which she hoped was just from the flight.

She'd briefed the team before they left, told them which mutants had elected to remain with Xavier after the incident in Cuba and what their abilities were. She'd recommended they go unarmed, not that guns would have had much effect anyway, as a peace offering of sorts. At least the team had had experience with unusual abilities before so they wouldn't be too shell shocked, she couldn't help but remember how freaked out she'd been when she'd seen the diamond lady and the red man with a tail.

At last they left leaving her at the hotel. She knew they'd be gone a few hours at most so she took the opportunity to fit in some training, Carter had moved her on to martial arts and Tai Chi proved to be very useful. Her balance had already improved significantly. Besides there wasn't a gym at the hotel to do strength training and apart from pull ups and crunches there wasn't much else she could do in a small bedroom.

During her brief time with Xavier and his…friends she never really took the opportunity to understand the depths of his powers, she'd been all too conscience of his presence in her mind a fact she long found disturbing. Her mind had never felt as unsecure as when she was around him. The most unsettling thing for her had been that unless he communicated with her she was never sure when he was reading her mind or not. Whether her thoughts were safe. It had also led to some extreme paranoia when using the shower or getting changed until she told herself he was too decent for such things.

Just thinking about him was ruining her relaxation. She wondered how deeply he was probing the other agent's minds. How much he'd gathered about her. How angry he was. Did he feel betrayed? Was he curious how she got her memories back?

As she stopped her Tai Chi and considered doing some push ups before going for a jog the door to her room banged open. She didn't know what it said of her new training that she instantly drew her weapon and pointed it at the doorway.

Alex stood there looking slightly out of breath and also a little hurt that Moira would pull a gun on him.

"Alex?"

"Moira thank god I found you. You need to come back to the house."

"I'm not going anywhere I need to stay here for the team to check back in."

"We need you. Magneto showed up."

"_Who_?"

"Eric – he calls himself Magneto now, it's weird I know."

"What is he doing there?"

"He's trying to steal Charles's recruits. I only just managed to get away, Charles told me to fetch you, said you'd be able to help."

"How?"

"I don't know I didn't have time to ask questions." Alex said with a touch of annoyance. "And would you mind putting the gun down?"

She kept it trained on him. "You said Magneto was there, which means Raven could be involved. Prove it's really you."

Alex looked mildly impressed. "Okay, when Professor X wiped your memories I went with Banshee to take you back to your apartment. On your mantle you had a picture of a woman and man and another one of a black dog. The walls in your kitchen are yellow and your front door squeaks when it opens – I hope you fixed that."

"You helped him." She kept her gun on him for a whole different reason now.

"He told us it was for the best. I disagreed until your government friends showed up."

"I wouldn't have had to go to S.H.I.E.L.D if he hadn't tampered with my mind. Do you have any idea how awful it was? Forgetting everything, having to go to people to find out the tiniest pieces of information, how other agents treated me? At least S.H.I.E.L.D has treated me with respect which is more than I can say for any of you."

He looked taken aback before returning to his usual stoic expression. "I told you Moira I disagreed with him. And so did the others. We trusted you to keep our secret and we think he should have too."

Slowly she lowered her gun. "Are the other agents alright?"

"I don't know, as soon as the Professor sensed one of Magneto's guys he sent me out to get you. I wouldn't worry though, we're pretty well matched these days, we've been recruiting."

Moira mustn't have looked convinced as he added. "The Professor will keep your people safe. Regardless of their affiliations."

"With me?"

"With a government organisation. We've been burned once."

"And I've been burned twice." Moira said. "Let me get my gear then we go."

"You know your gun won't work."

"That's okay – I got something special for _Magneto_."


	8. Chapter 8

Alex seemed to be taken aback by her full tactical gear but they didn't have time to talk about it. He'd driven to the hotel and they soon sped towards the mansion.

"How's your training been going?" Moira asked, surveying the property which from afar looked so peaceful.

"I don't have my gear but I've improved a bit."

"Okay. We'll take the side entrance. Do you know which room Charles was in before you left?"

"His study."

"We'll head there. I'll take point you cover my rear, got it."

Drawing her gun they made their way towards the house.

_Now don't go shooting any of my pupils_. A voice rang in her ears. _They don't know you're here but they're looking out for Alex. Eric doesn't want to harm anyone he just wants me. However your friends have made him rather...twitchy_.

Moira thought fast, they weren't expecting her. She turned to Alex.

_Now Moira..._

"Alex you go ahead."

"What?"

"Charles says they're looking for you, if you go ahead you can cause a distraction then I can take them by surprise."

"Okay." He nodded, moving around her and hurrying up the stairs.

_Tell me when I'm clear to move okay._ She thought willing him to hear her for once.

_Of course_. _Be careful, his associates are roaming the halls keeping an eye on my students_.

She was always careful.

There was a soft laugh._ Yes I'm sure you're more than capable. Just try not to kill anyone._

Moira moved into a small alcove as she felt someone approach.

It was Frost already in diamond form.

Deciding it would be difficult to incapacitate her while she was transformed, Moira let her pass by, holding her breath as she did, watching as she went downstairs.

There was a thud upstairs and she had to will herself to stay still. Not yet.

Voices could now be heard, not clearly, but there was definitely an argument going on. Tentatively she moved out of position and for the stairs.

_Behind you!_

She swung around to see Angel making her way towards her. Grabbing onto the handrail she jumped off the stairs back on to the floor, rolling away from the flaming ball Angel spit at her.

"Didn't expect to see you here Agent."

"Surprised to see you with all your clothes on." Moira sprung up and threw a punch in Angel's face which the mutant just managed to duck, only to trip over Moira's well placed foot. This time she had the upper hand and quickly used the butt of her gun to hit the girl across the head.

Swiftly she pulled Angel into an empty room before heading back up the stairs.

"This is not a negotiation." Now she could hear _Magneto_ talking through the door as she cautiously waited outside.

_Wait for him to move_.

"Eric if you would just calm down I can explain why these agents are here."

"They're the enemy Charles."

"They are no one's enemy, we were having a perfectly pleasant meeting until you showed up."

"Humans cannot be trusted."

"They're not even armed."

There was a pause.

"You see, they're telling the truth." Charles said calmly, Magneto obviously having checked for guns.

"You've been deceived before."

"I've been betrayed by as many mutants as humans Eric."

_Any second_.

She drew her gun.

_Don't kill him Moira_.

He deserves it.

"It was that woman's fault you were shot."

"A gun wouldn't have been necessary at all if you hadn't been trying to kill hundreds of innocent people."

"Humans are not innocent."

_Now._

She kicked the door open and the room turned to her in surprise. Eric was stood clearly in front of her, only Raven had come in with him and she was on the other side of the office.

He tried to wave the gun from her hand but it wouldn't move.

Remembering Charles' request she shot his shoulder, the plastic bullet neatly making him hit the floor. Lowering her gun she moved forward as Raven launched at her.

"Raven don't do this." Charles said, everyone else stood still as she dodged Raven's kicks, moving almost as gracefully as the blue mutant who was almost growling in frustration. As she was able to land a punch to her side the room seemed to regain sense and Hank leapt forward, wrapping his arms around Raven who thrashed against him.

"Eric." She said looking down at him as he bled onto the floor.

Red smoke enveloped her and as she squinted against it she saw Eric disappear. Raven flipped back on Hank who hit the wall, and next she disappeared as well.

Alex and Hank ran into the hallway, and obviously Azazel had taken care of all the rest of Eric's team, transporting them out of the house.

Moira however focused on her people.

"Are you all alright."

"Yes ma'am." Johnson answered. "Sorry to drag you out here."

"Sorry I made you come unarmed."

"Actually I think that rather worked in their favour." Hank answered curtly, moving back into the room.

"Moira." Sean entered the room. "Didn't know you were dropping in on us too." He smiled before turning to Charles. "Everyone downstairs is fine, they didn't take any of us."

"Good." Charles nodded. "I'll be sure to check on them as soon as I can. Hank would you go downstairs and make sure that no one is hurt."

"Yes Professor." He threw Moira one last look before heading downstairs.

Finally getting a look at everyone, Charles' X-Men had certainly looked happier the last time she had seen them. Maybe it was the strain of running a school or maybe attacks like these were not that uncommon.

"Sean, Alex go with him. I'll finish up in here."

Alex left immediately, but Sean hesitated, questions clear in his eyes.

"It's alright Sean I will explain everything later."

The door shut behind them.


	9. Chapter 9

The room was quiet as the door shut. No one really seemed to know what to say.

Suddenly Johnson and his team stood up. "We'll meet you back at base ma'am." They all left.

Moira turned to Charles.

"Sorry I wanted a bit of privacy."

"They're here on a mission." She said slightly outraged, how could he be so insensitive as to use his mind control in front of her after what he did.

"I assure you they didn't want to say. Needless to say Johnson felt he was intruding."

He rolled himself over to his desk and quietly motioned to the chair opposite him. "Won't you sit?"

"And if I say no will you make me sit down anyway?"

"You can leave whenever you want Moira I won't stop you."

He wants you to leave doesn't he.

She expected him to contradict the thought but he said nothing. Maybe he wasn't reading her mind. Or maybe he was but didn't want her to know he was. This was it - the paranoia that always surrounded her whenever she was near him.

Moira sat and Charles almost smiled.

"Now I'm sure you have questions."

"Did my team brief you on why they were here or did Lehnsherr interrupt."

"Eric arrived just as they were getting to the point."

"But you already knew why they were here. You didn't need them to tell you."

"No I didn't. I'm happy to stay in contact with this organisation however I wish to know more about them."

"I work for SHIELD."

"And SHIELD means?"

"Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-Enforcement Division. We work within the United Nations and deal..."

"...with the unexplainable?" He cut in.

"With things that normal law enforcement agencies are unprepared to handle."

"Like mutants?"

"It's not just mutants."

"Yes - I see your trainer has been telling you lots of interesting stories."

"She's not a trainer she is my Superior Officer." Moira answered sharply, internally cringing knowing he'd read her mind. She wished there was a way to shut him out.

"I'm sorry."

She looked at him.

"I know it makes you uncomfortable. But I need as much information to know whether I can trust SHIELD."

"I trust SHIELD."

"Do you?"

"I may have doubts about some things. But I respect what they do. And I'm proud to work for them."

"I trust you Moira."

"If you trusted me you wouldn't have wiped my memory."

"It was in the best interest of my students..."

She stood up and headed for the door.

"Moira wait."

Keeping a hand on the doorknob she kept her back to him but waited patiently.

"I did it to protect you."

"Protect me from what?"

"From people like SHIELD who want to use you to get to us."

She turned back. "Is that it? Do you think the only reason SHIELD approached me is for you? Is that what you think of me? That I have nothing else to offer but information about the magnificent Charles Xavier and his school of mutants?"

"I don't know why they hired you. The only information I could gleam out of those agents was they're basic mission information. They don't question they're orders they just follow them out."

"Just like your pupils follow you? Hank and Alex are more like your guards than your students."

"I'm helping them."

"And SHIELD helped me!" She half yelled. "They helped me when everyone else shunned me. You're so busy sitting there thinking about why you should trust SHIELD - why should SHIELD trust you?"

He took a breath and looked at his desk for a moment as he seemed to ponder. "I'm sorry I hurt you. I thought I was doing the right thing."

"You were wrong." You should have let me stay. She stood up straight. "Johnson gave you SHIELDs number, contact if you have any problems or concerns."

She swung the door open. "Goodbye Charles."

Moira left without looking at him one last time.

XXX

**I just have so many problems with what Charles did to Moira at the end of First Class. I feel that if they met again afterwards it would need to take a lot of time before Moira could trust him again.**


	10. Chapter 10

After rendezvousing with the team back at the hotel they silently journeyed back to HQ. She could sense the quiet nervousness amongst her colleagues about how they had left the mansion - apparently no one likes having someone in your head, even if you do know it could happen.

They were met on the tarmac by her S.O. who quickly dismissed the welcome committee and instructed Moira to follow her.

"I read in your immediate report that you fired your weapon."

"At Eric Lehnsherr."

"You used the plastic weapon?"

"Yes it proved very effective."

Peggy shot a small smile over her shoulder as they marched through webs of corridors.

"I look forward to hearing your full account. You'll be debriefing Fury now."

"Now?"

"Problem?"

She took a breath. "No ma'am."

Selecting a door along the corridor, Peggy threw it open and ushered Moira ahead of her. Fury stood at the head of a table and one other man was sat with him. He had a thin moustache and was dressed in what even Moira could tell was a very expensive suit.

"Peggy." The man said warmly standing up to greet her.

"Hello Howard. Allow me to introduce you to Moira MacTaggert."

"Moira, pleasure to meet you." Howard extended his hand.

"MacTaggert this is Howard Stark. He designed the weapon you used against Eric Lehnsherr."

"It was very effective Mr Stark."

"Call me Howard." He said with a wave of his hand.

"I presume you only wounded him?" Fury spoke up.

She turned to him. "Yes. In retrospect I think a kill may have been a better choice."

"Well we wouldn't want them to hate us too much." Howard smiled.

"I read your initial assessment." Fury continued. "That you were summoned to the scene by one of Xavier's _pupils_."

"Yes sir. Xavier knew I was there after reading the minds of the SHIELD team. When Magneto turned up he sent Alex Summers, to fetch me."

"Why?"

"He thought my presence would give them the element of surprise so we could gain the upper hand. They didn't expect me there."

Fury nodded. "He must trust you a great deal to form a whole plan around you."

Moira paused. "I don't think he trusts so easily. I think he calculated what would be the best plan and enacted it."

"She's so modest." Howard chipped in.

"You were able to extend SHIELDs welcome."

"Yes sir. I explained the basic principles of the organisation, however he seems reluctant to become involved - after the Mutant Division..."

"Understandable. What course of action do you propose?"

"I think we let them come to us. Don't push them. Xavier is curious now, I think it's only so long until he reaches out."

"Submit your full assessment by 08:00." Fury finished before sitting in his chair.

"Sir. Howard." Peggy said, before moving back to the door and leading Moira back out again.

"That's it?"

"Of course." Peggy replied. "They're busy people we couldn't talk all day."

"I know...I just thought they'd ask more."

"You'll include everything in your report. I trust your thoroughness."

It wasn't until they broke back out into the daylight that she spoke again. "Anything else?"

"Ma'am?"

She turned on her heel to face Moira. "Is there anything else you'd like to discuss?" Peggy sighed at Moira's confusion. "An S.O. does not merely provide physical training but is also expected to help develop their trainees mindset to cope with the pressures of being a field agent. Long spiel short if you feel something you can tell me about it so I can help you."

"I just...I can't help but feel I'm betraying them."

Peggy nodded in understanding. "And even though they betrayed you you don't feel it's enough to justify your cooperation with us?"

"Sometimes."

"Moira. You can walk away from this anytime you want. The case or SHIELD. If you don't want to work with the mutants anymore Fury will reassign you. Yes it's useful having you on the case but that's not the only reason we hired you. SHIELD needs good people like you. People who aren't afraid to do what's right no matter what adversity they face. Most people who see a room of powered people for the first time would panic and run. You stayed, investigated and were able to realise the lines between the good and the bad instead of categorising them all as _freaks_. The only question you have to answer is - do you want to never work with them again?

"Think about it Moira. Let me know what you think. Either way I'm your S.O. It's a lifetime job no matter if you quit or finish your training."


	11. Chapter 11

The next few weeks were relatively quiet. She tagged along with Peggy on one mission and stood back as her S.O. took out the guards virtually single handily. Moira's training sessions were even cut down to only four sessions a week, a vast change from their normal routine.

It wasn't until Peggy announced she would be receiving her badge next Tuesday that she realised why. She was becoming an official SHIELD agent with automatic Level 5 clearance.

"Level 5?"

"Most agents don't get that high a clearance but after your work we feel you deserve it."

"With the mutants?"

"With everything Moira. You've displayed excellent aptitude in all of our fields of training - most trainees are at the academy for a minimum of two years."

"So we won't be training anymore?"

"You'll start taking on your own field assignments as soon as you graduate."

"Do I get a cool code name?" She said half jokingly. She'd met Agent 324 the other day, although of course Peggy was on first name basis with her.

"We'll work on it." Peggy answered with a smile.

"How many levels are there exactly?"

"That's classified."

_Of course it is_. "What level are you?"

"Top ranking. I helped found the place after all."

"Will you be at the graduation?"

"Of course." Peggy laughed. "What kind of S.O. do you think I am?"

"Are many people graduating?"

"Only a handful. Everyone goes at different paces."

"But I get missions after this? Alone?"

"You might work within a team but as a specialist you'll usually operate alone."

Moira nodded. Being a specialist was what she wanted - to be like her S.O.. "But I won't know about my mission until next week?"

"We haven't decided where you're going yet. We'll see what arises and take it one day at a time."

Moira picked up her gun. "Guess I better keep myself in shape then."

The thought of a graduation was a little daunting. She'd never graduated from college, just gone straight into work. Sure there was high school graduation but what was that compared to this? Level 5 specialist.

Peggy was right, there were only three more graduates, two from the science schools, one other field agent. They all looked at her when Peggy gave her her new badge.

As they all broke away to talk amongst themselves, Peggy led her to the door and pulled a envelope from her bag. "Your first assignment Agent 24."

**Agent 324 is in the comics.  
X is the 24th letter of the alphabet - hence Agent 24 :)  
Now she's a proper Agent she'll get to have more run ins with other agents and maybe a few superheroes. And of course the X-Men!**


	12. Chapter 12

She would be alone as soon as the plane hit the ground. All she had on her was a gun, money and a number for extraction memorised in case things went south.

There had been reported instances of an exceptional in Puerto Rico. Moira was to investigate, assess whether they were a threat and make contact to try and bring them into SHIELD.

The only issue would be tracking them down.

SHIELD had provided blurry photos of the exceptional however there was nothing to go off. She would merely have to monitor the area and hope they hadn't already left. If not the investigation could take months.

No one was sure exactly of what his power was either which was another factor to worry about in her already long list.

The seatbelt light came on as they began their decent.

Her first step was to go to the plaza where the exceptional was last seen. Her black suit attracted the attention of the locals however no one questioned her as she began to assess the scorch marks left on the sides of the buildings. Evidently the scene had attracted many visitors.

Only one man seemed to pay her any attention - not wanting to raise his guard she kept her back to him, only getting a fleeting glimpse of him in the reflection of a window. A man, late teens, blonde hair, sunglasses. Perhaps another tourist.

Turning to scan the buildings she allowed her eyes to wash over him for a second. Still looking. Law enforcement?

SHIELD hadn't cleared anything with the Puerto Rican government, she was to stay low and find the asset.

Remaining alert to the crowds around her, she moved forward to look at the burns. They were contained between two buildings. From the few details she had picked out from the photo of the exceptional Moira appeared to be standing near to where he had stood. Which now resembled the epicentre of an explosion.

The bottom of the buildings were the most badly damaged. Parts of the brick had been eroded away by the force of the flames, and a garbage can had been reduced to a melted pile of metal on the sidewalk. The flames had reached high, up to the second floor. The sides of the buildings didn't have windows but Moira imagined if there had been any they would have been blown out with the intensity of the heat.

Clearly the exceptional could generate fire or perhaps an electrical surge she thought. Local news agencies had claimed a bolt of lightning had hit this spot and started a fire. They didn't explain how lightning could have struck on a bright sunny afternoon.

Moving away from the buildings she resolved to speak to some of the buildings residents to see if they could identify the man.

Chancing one last look across the square she saw the teen was gone.

The building was divided into apartments. She decided to go to the first and second floor apartments that sided on to the damage.

Although her Spanish was not entirely fluent she was able to ascertain from the woman downstairs that the exceptional was a young man, no older than twenty five. The couple upstairs spoke fair English but were unable to provide any useful information.

The building on the other side was closed for refurbishment.

Deciding that a young man could still be in school, Moira planned to head to the nearest high school; before opting to go to the local newspaper instead to see if she could find any stories that were similar to the incident.

She spotted the teen again before she entered the building, her alarm bells now ringing.

Cautiously she moved to the front desk and asked if the editor or a reporter was available to talk about the recent fire at the square.

They sent out a portly middle aged man who spoke broken English and had a toothy grin.

"You have information?" He asked.

"No." She said, relieved she wouldn't have to attempt any more Spanish. "I'm wondering if you can tell me if there's been any similar events?"

"You police?"

"No. I'm an American journalist, we heard about the lightening strike and thought it could be of some interest."

"It was no lightening."

"Then what started the fire?" She asked, injecting a reasonable amount of surprise into her voice.

"I don't know. Some people think a boy start it."

"Then why did you say it was lightning?"

"It's a more interesting story. Beside no one can find boy responsible."

"Do you know what he looks like?"

He looked at her curiously. "Why don't you go to police about this?"

"The police aren't always forthcoming with information. Especially on unsolved cases."

"I don't know what he look like. But I heard people say they saw him run towards the beaches."

She nodded, perhaps she could head down there and see if anyone saw anything. After she dealt with sunglasses outside.

The phone rang at the desk and the man hurried to answer it as the receptionist had stepped away during their conversation.

After a minute or so he turned to her. Moira had been politely looking out of the window to give him privacy.

"Lady. There's a report of another fire not far from here."

"Where?" She asked.

"Not far, only ten minutes away. You come with us?" He was already motioning to another reporter nearby who quickly snatched up a camera before coming to stand beside them.

"Yes, of course, thank you."

He nodded impatiently before heading out the back of the building, Moira following hastily behind him hardly believing her luck.

**Okay so this is supposed to all be set in the 70s (alternative timeline after Logan went back in time), and I've put Gordon in here (teen with sunglasses in case you didn't guess) and he doesn't go through the Terrigen Mist until the 80s but - it's a story. Forgive the small discrepancies. **

**THANKS FOR READING! This is my least popular story but I really enjoy writing it :)**


	13. Chapter 13

They drove fast to the site, Moira hopping out of the car as soon as it began to slow.

It was clear where the fire had started. A fire crew was working to bring the flames under control, the scorch marks ranging even higher than before.

Looking around she saw a high wall that she scrambled to stand on so she could scan the crowd.

The fire crew were trying to prevent the flames from spreading to nearby houses and the trees.

The trees. A young man stood clutching a tree, apart from the crowds, panting, holding on like he was about to faint, sweat running down his face, smoke coming off his back.

Smoke?

Moira leapt back down into the crowd and moved through it, trying not to run and draw attention to herself and the boy.

Nevertheless as she broke the crowd the boy saw her and edged back into the trees. She ran after him.

As the trees closed behind her she risked yelling after him, sure no one else could hear.

"Please stop. I just want to help you!"

She came into a clearing and he stood waiting for her, hands on fire. He was breathing hard, she wasn't sure if it was because the fire was hurting him or because of the sheer heat.

"Don't come any closer!" He threatened, his English immaculate.

"Please." Moira said. "I've been searching for you. I'm trying to understand."

"Why have you been looking for me?" Her words only made him more tense.

"We just want to know if you have your powers under control. We don't want anyone to get hurt. Do you?"

"No!" He yelled. "Who are you? Who sent you?"

Moira kept her palms facing him, remembering Peggy's instructions. No need to make him jumpy. "My name is Moira MacTaggert. I work for an organisation called SHIELD. We work to help special people like you. To train you, to make you feel like you're not alone."

"No, no, no." He shook his head. "You want to study me!"

"That's not true..." She paused. "Will you tell me your name?"

"Why? So you can tell the world about me. No!"

"It's just you and me." Moira responded calmly. She looked to a rock beside her and slowly moved over to sit on it. "SHIELD is a secret organisation. You could tell the world they exist. You could tell them I'm an agent for them. I'll answer any questions you have until you understand that I'm not here to hurt you. Please, just tell me your name."

He took a breath and lowered his hands slightly. "Dante. Dante Pertuz."

"Nice to meet you." Moira let out a shaky laugh.

The flames in his hands dimmed slightly.

"What do SHIELD want with me?"

"SHIELD keeps track of powered individuals. There are some people out there who try to exploit people like you. Once you've entered our database you can contact us at anytime if you feel you are under threat and we'll help you. We offer training to people whose powers are unstable to help them develop and control them. Sometimes we ask certain gifted people to join our organisation, but they are free to decline. We'll still help them. Some individuals chose to be left alone but we are still available if they need us."

"So you put my name on a list?"

"Yes."

"Who can see this list?"

"Only high ranking SHIELD agents. Most of the time information is only made available on a need to know basis. For example most agents would be unaware who you are, but if you asked for help we would inform the SHIELD agents we send to you about who you are and what your abilities are." Moira paused letting him think through what she said. "Can I ask you a question now?"

Dante looked up. "What?"

"How did you get your powers? Have you had them long?"

He shook his head. "Only about a month. I couldn't...I came here."

"You have family here?"

"No I travelled down here."

"How?"

"On foot."

Moira looked curiously at him. "That sounds dangerous."

"I'm stronger now. Faster. I don't get tired much either."

"And you can turn to fire." Moira looked pointedly to his hands that were only smoking now.

"And rock. Do you want to see?" He asked quietly. Somewhere along their conversation his tough demeanour had faded. He looked so young now.

Moira almost screamed when he erupted into an enormous figure of fire and rock, towering above his normal height. Thankfully the trees were thinned out here, still it probably wasn't the safest place.

"Wow."

"I'll say." Came a voice from behind them. Moira stood and spun to face the man in sunglasses.


	14. Chapter 14

"You." Moira breathed, contemplating whether to draw her weapon.

The man turned to face Dante. They both looked around similar ages. "Dante. We haven't formally met, my name is Gordon."

Dante, well the giant rock fire creature he had become, turned to face Moira. "You work together?" His voice was rough, harsh again.

"No." Moira responded. "Who are you?"

Gordon disappeared only to reappear at the opposite side of the clearing. "I'm the kind of person you think needs _protecting_." He sneered.

Dante's flames grew. Gordon held up his hands. "Dante. We should have met a month ago after you went through the transformation. We were a bit busy, you can imagine, what with so many people going through the mist."

"You know what happened to me." Dante growled.

"Yes." Gordon looked at Moira with disdain, a lot like Eric used to, before continuing somewhat reluctantly. "When you were back home another Inhuman decided to release a Terrigen Cristal, the mist spread around the diner you were in. Everyone was encased in stone, only a few of you came out."

"Inhuman?" Dante asked.

"That's us. A member of our community acted individually, stealing a crystal from us, to turn people. She created three other incidents, which produced more Inhumans than we are used to dealing with. I'm sure your friend here is aware of them." He nodded towards Moira.

Moira tried to keep her face blank. Undoubtedly this was one of many incidents that was classified above her level.

"Why didn't my mom change?" Dante asked, the fires growing so intense Moira had to step back afraid she would be singed.

"Not everyone can go through the transformation. Only a few who are genetically able can transform. Usually our community is very selective of who goes through the process, and we guide them the best we can. After the incidents we collected as many of you as we could - to help you understand the process, to guide you through the change. We weren't able to track all of you. I ended up following _her_ here to find you."

"Guess us humans aren't all useless then are we." Moira blurted. No matter which group she was with she was nearly always made to feel inferior.

A branch snapped. Gordon zapped away before quickly reappearing. "The police are coming this way. They think there's a fire."

Dante's flames cooled, the rocks parting slightly. He looked panicked.

"Come with me Dante, I'll take you to our community. You can get answers." Gordon looked at Moira. "You can be with people like yourself."

Gordon stretched out his hand.

Dante cooled down. "What about Moira?"

"Oh she's coming to." Gordon sighed.

"What?" Moira asked, but Gordon had already grabbed Dante and disappeared.

The noises were getting closer, any minute they'd break through the tree line. She was meant to stay low.

Gordon flashed back, wrapped his arms around her shoulders and they zapped into blue nothingness.


	15. Chapter 15

Before Moira could process anything Gordon had already zapped away again, leaving her with Dante in a large ornate room. The shutters were closed so she couldn't get a sense of their location. The room itself looked Chinese in decoration.

A knock came at the door.

Dante was panting, smoke filling the room.

"Dante calm down." Moira said before crossing to the door and opening it.

A woman with a scarred face stood before her. She was still beautiful, a calming energy emanating from her.

"Hello." She said softly. "You must be Moira. My name is Jiaying. Might I come in?"

Moira stood back and Jiaying moved smoothly into the room, leaving the door open behind her to clear some of the smoke.

"Dante." Jianying said. "It's wonderful to finally meet you. I'm sorry you were brought here under such stressful conditions. But we take privacy very seriously within our community. We didn't want the police to get to you. Or to see Gordon's powers."

"Are you in charge here?" Moira asked. Jiaying turned to face her.

"Yes." She stood now between Dante and Moira, including Moira in the conversation where Gordon had shunned her. "We are currently in Afterlife. It is a community for Inhumans. It is not a permanent residence, many of our citizens come and go frequently. We mainly provide shelter and training for people who have recently gone through the transformation. Or for people who will go through it."

"Gordon said not everyone survives?" Moira asked.

"That is true. But we have ways of determining whether an individual has the potential to become Inhuman. Some are brought here, if we feel they are ready to take on their abilities. We guide them through what will happen, and help them adjust to their new lives."

"Why did I transform?" Dante asked, smoke still rising.

"The woman who triggered your transformation dropped a Terrigen crystal. The crystal releases a smoke and you go through a process called Terrigenesis. The process activates dormant cells in your body enabling you to access your ability. Each Inhuman is effected differently, though each demonstrates speed, strength and durability above the normal levels of even the fittest human being."

"I'm not human?" Dante asked.

"At your basic level you still retain human characteristics. But Terrigenesis enhances your DNA, changing it radically. That's why we call ourselves Inhuman. Born human, made into something more advanced." Jiaying explained calmly. "Of course, within our community we do not promote ideas of superiority above humanity, though I admit not all Inhumans feel that way." She kindly told Moira.

"So there are people here who are still human?" Moira asked.

"Yes. We vet them to make sure they are suitable to go through Terrigenesis. We hold most of the crystals. The incident that led to Dante's transformation was the first time in our history a crystal has been taken from us."

"You have the person responsible?"

"Gordon brought her back here. We are unable to reverse the process that gave her her powers but we have removed her from the community and Gordon is monitoring her closely."

"You can't change what happened to me?" Dante asked quietly.

"No. But we can help you to understand your powers, to control them. But I understand if you don't want to remain here. You're free to leave if you wish." Jiaying answered.

"What about me?" Moira said.

"Dante, if it's alright with you a member of our community is going to come in. He helps transition people who have gone through the mist. He will act as your guide if you choose to stay. In the meantime Moira and I are going to have a talk." Jiaying said, addressing Dante.

A man entered the room, probably waiting for Jiaying's words.

He introduced himself to Dante as Luke while Jiaying led Moira outside.

The sun was low in the sky. All Moira could see were buildings and beyond that mountains that stretched for miles.

"It's a beautiful community you have here."

"Thank you." Jiaying said, sounding sincere as they wandered through their surroundings. "I've always found it a very peaceful place to live."

She led Moira into a building and sat behind her desk. "Won't you sit?"

"Why did you bring me here?" Moira asked as she lowered herself into a chair, glad to be sat after such an eventful day.

"After Gordon saw you investigating the fire I asked him to find out more about you. I found out that you used to work with Mutants, and that you work for an organisation called SHIELD."

"Yes I do."

"You haven't been an agent very long." Jiaying smiled indulgently.

"No I haven't. In fact finding Dante was my first mission alone." Moira admitted, hoping her honesty would please Jiaying. She had to get back home after all. "If you don't mind my asking, how do you differ from Mutants?"

"To be honest I don't know much about them, we're a small community and don't like to interact much with the outside world. I know that Mutants have their abilities from birth. Inhumans reach theirs by going through Terrigenesis. Individual Inhumans and Mutants have their own abilities, but Inhumans also develop stronger bodies which not all Mutants do. We also live much longer than average humans or Mutants. I've encountered Inhumans who have lived for nearly 150 years." Jiaying explained slowly. "When you were with the Mutants did they trust you?"

"A few. Some didn't." Moira said. It was true Charles had trusted her enough to include her in his plans. But not enough to leave her with her memories.

"People cannot know about the existence of this community. Especially organisations such as SHIELD."

"We don't want to harm you."

"I know that is true of some individuals. But organisations are large and diverse. And mistakes can be made. It is my responsibility as the leader of this community to ensure our secrets remain protected."

"I understand that. But I have to tell my superiors something. They know I was looking for an enhanced, and they probably know I've disappeared."

"The Mutants wiped your memory." Jiaying stated.

"Y-es."

"But you got it back."

"SHIELD helped me when I was - _ostracised_ by others." She replied carefully.

"I could wipe your memory again. We have someone here who is capable."

"SHIELD would restore it."

She smiled. "I know. I don't wipe people's memory by force Moira, I'm not that kind of person. I offer people choices."

"Changing my memory won't help."

"I know. That is not the choice I am offering you."

"Then what are you offering me."

"You can go back to your organisation, tell them Dante is an exceptional, has been since birth. He caused the fires when he got scared. You made contact with him, but he does not wish to join your organisation. When you disappeared you merely went to the place he was hiding out in."

Moira took it in, accepting it could work though doubting her ability to successfully lie to Peggy. "Or?"

"You can stay here. Learn about Inhumans, and maybe, if you're ready. You can join us."


	16. Chapter 16

"Join you? You mean..."

Jiaying smiled. "Become an Inhuman."

"You said there are people who don't survive the process."

"People who do not have the genetic predisposition cannot survive, yes."

"Why would you think..." Moira trailed off again.

"One of our members is able to sense potential Inhumans. It's very convenient, it makes recruitment much safer than it used to be. Before we would only change the children of other Inhumans, as they are highly likely to have the gene. Now with Fatima, or from testing, we can assess anyone."

"You're telling me, I'm not human?"

"No - you _are_ human. Now. But," she opened a draw in her desk. "It would not take long for that to change."

A blue crystal of sorts was placed on the desk, glowing subtly in the daylight streaming through the windows. Instinctively reaching out, Jiaying put her hand over the crystal preventing contact.

"I'm sorry." Moira responded, withdrawing her hand.

"Oh it is quite natural. I've found predisposed individuals naturally want to touch the crystal. It seems we have an instinct to initiate our transformations. In the few cases of Inhuman transformations that did not happen here, members of our community came across these crystals and changed themselves."

"There are other crystals out there?"

"Yes. We have control of the majority of them, but some are scattered. There are only a few unaccounted for. As there have been no accidental changes in the past few decades we assume they are beyond human reach."

"But you cannot be sure?"

"No." She paused and smiled again. "Ideally it is best that transformations take place within the community. Cases like Dante's are unfortunate. It seems best to be surrounded by other Inhumans while undergoing the transformation. Still, we can offer him answers. And guidance, to control his powers."

"Do you know SHIELD?" Moira asked, still gazing intently at the crystal, almost hypnotised by the light still shining under Jiaying's hand.

"I've heard of them, but have never made contact before. Well, until now. I guess it is not that unlikely. It was not that long ago you encountered Mutants, and you knew nothing of them before?"

"No, I didn't." Moira confirmed. "But SHIELD did."

"Afterlife is a community founded on maintaining privacy. Individuals can call attention to themselves. We work together to ensure things are kept quiet."

"Is that why we never heard about the attack at the diner Dante was in?"

"Yes. We worked hard to make sure it was covered up. Understand that as a community we have our own system of dealing with public events. Much like SHIELD works to keep exceptionals and themselves secret, so do we. Do you find that unreasonable?"

"No." Moira finally looked up. "It makes sense that you would want to protect yourselves from public knowledge. SHIELD can help you with that."

Jiaying's lips pressed together as she assessed Moira with a critical eye. "I would have thought, given your past with the Mutants, that you would be more understanding of our desire for privacy." She stood, taking her hand off the crystal to fold her arms behind her back.

"I do. But I don't understand why you think SHIELD would want to harm you."

"You did not trust the CIA to protect your Mutants. Why do you trust SHIELD?"

"Because they have never shown me anything but kindness and respect." Moira responded stiffly.

"For now." Jiaying responded. "But you must know how quickly things can change." She paused, looking out the window for a moment. "Now, why don't I take you back to Dante, we can see if he has made a decision about whether he would like to stay."

"Of course."

The next minute happened simultaneously very quickly and very slowly. Three things happened.

Firstly Jiaying's leg tapped against the side of the desk as she moved towards the door.

Second the crystal began to roll to the edge.

Thirdly Moira, acting on reflex, shot out her hand and caught the crystal neatly before it hit the floor.

Their eyes met as everything paused. Then Jiaying was at her side wrenching the crystal from her blackening hand.

"What's happening?" Moira cried shrilly, watching in horror as she realised her hand was turning to some kind of stone.

"You touched the crystal, you're transforming." Jiaying said urgently.

"Well stop it!"

"I can't do that now." Jiaying responded, watching as the stone made its way up Moira's arms, across her chest and down to her legs. "It's too far spread."

Like she was being pulled into water, Moira titled her head back as the stone began to make its way up her neck, fighting for air.

"Don't fight it," Jiaying said before the stone closed over her, "it _will_ accept you."

Darkness.

**Notes:**

**Okay so anyone who's watched Agents of Shield knows what Jiaying is like. Moira will be reunited with the Mutants in two or three chapters. I have no idea if anyone is reading this story anymore but if you are I hope you're enjoying this! Leave a review &amp; let me know what you think!**


	17. Chapter 17

The first part to feel the cool air was the tips of her fingers, which soon felt another hand close over them. Moira distantly heard a voice but it was muffled by the darkness around her.

Her arms cracked free, and she became increasingly aware of the presence beside her who was pulling the darkness from her body, light slowly creeping in.

Once it fell from her eyes the rest came loose and crumbled to her feet. She looked up at Jiaying in horror.

"What did you do to me?"

"I am so sorry Moira." Jiaying said, pulling her forward to a seat. "You have to believe that I did not intend for that to happen. I can't believe I was so careless with the crystal." She hastily shoved it into a draw. "Thank heavens you caught it, if there had been anyone unsuitable near the room..."

"What's happened to me?" She was too drawn in on herself to hear Jiaying's words. She scanned her body, expecting it to have changed in some form. It was almost a shock to see it looked the same.

"You're not displaying any physical signs of transformation." Jiaying said calmly. "It may take us a while to assess what your abilities are."

"My _abilities?_ You did this on purpose!"

"Moira that's not true..."

"You didn't want me to tell SHIELD about you so you decided to make me one of you. Why? Do you think this means I'll take your side?"

"Moira." Jiaying said sternly, taking a firm grip of her shoulders. "You need to stay calm. We have no idea yet what you're capable of doing. Let me take you to one of our transition rooms. We can help you process the change. Gordon?"

Gordon flashed in, nearly blinding her.

"Gordon take Moira to the transitioning rooms. She came in contact with a crystal and has undergone Terrigenesis."

She wanted to protest but Gordon grabbed her arm and she was powerless to free herself as they teleported.

Landing in a dark room she shoved Gordon away from her, surprised by the power in her arms.

"Gently." Gordon scolded, catching himself against the table. "We can be stronger than normal humans. You're going to have to adjust."

"I want to leave."

"You can't leave until Jiaying says you can."

"So you're holding me hostage?"

"We need to see what you are capable of doing before we unleash you on the world."

"She _planned_ this." Moira insisted, running her hands through her hair as she began to pace the room. "You wanted to make me like you."

"I had no part in this." Gordon responded coolly. "Now I suggest you calm down, someone will be along shortly." He zapped out the room again.

Experimentally Moira hit a chair in the room and watched with horrified wonder as it flew across the room and broke as it met the wall.

They said all Inhumans are strong, fast and durable. But what else could she do?

Glancing around the room she spotted the door and headed for it. Regardless of how they thought they could help her Moira had no intention to stick around the people who had done this to her.

Gordon and Jiaying were talking a short distance away and would be sure to notice her if she tried to walk out.

Closing the door again Moira paced the floor. The windows were all shut and the shutters behind them locked. Shame her power couldn't be teleportation or flying. Well it wasn't as far as Moira knew anyway. How would you know? Should she just jump in the air and see if she floats?

Briefly considering it Moira spun around as the door opened and Jiaying stepped in, still looking apologetic, even more so she saw the broken chair.

"I want to leave."

"Moira," she started. "Be reasonable. We don't even know what your ability is yet? Would SHIELD allow someone who has just been given powers to wander off without even discovering what their powers are yet?"

"SHIELD can help me. I'm not staying here."

"Just a few days Moira. We'll do some tests and try to figure out what you can do."

"No."

"You don't have to work with me, I'll get another transitioner." She offered. "You could work with Luke and Dante?"

"I just want to leave." Moira sighed. "Send me back to SHIELD."

"Just one day, Moira." Jiaying implored. "One day for us to explain what being an Inhuman means, a chance to find out what your powers are and to talk to Dante. He's been asking for you."

Using Dante was low. Jiaying knew it was Moira's job to ensure his safety.

"Tonight." Moira agreed. "I want to leave tomorrow morning."

Jiaying paused for a moment, perhaps thinking if there was any more leverage she could use to keep Moira here longer. Maybe she wasn't planning to stick to the arrangement at all. Maybe she had hoped the crystal would kill her. "Alright. I'll bring Fatima in."

"The woman you said can tell if someone can go through the change?"

"Yes. She won't be able to sense what your exact powers are but she can usually sense if they are physical or mental abilities. We can go from there."

Jiaying opened the door and Fatima was waiting on the other side. Obviously Jiaying had been confident that she would be able to persuade Moira to stay.

She was a small woman, her face had no noticeable characteristics and she wore clothes similar to Jiaying. However she seemed shy, not holding herself as confidently as Jiaying who always emanated a sense of tranquillity.

Fatima walked over to them and without saying a word held out her hand for Moira to take, which she reluctantly did after looking to Jiaying for confirmation.

"It's a mental ability of some kind." Fatima answered quietly. "I'm sorry I can't tell you more than that." Despite her shyness she looked Moira in the eye and smiled kindly as she took her leave. She paused at the door. "Good luck."


	18. Chapter 18

Moira stared at the door that Fatima had just exited through. A mental ability? What, like mind control? Like Charles?

"Moira?" Jiaying called to her. "Come sit down with me."

Jiaying had opened one of the windows while Moira was in a reverie, two chairs were sat in front of it. The view opened out onto the expansive mountains and a pleasant draft came through.

Moira took a seat and kept her attention on the mountains. Perhaps Jiaying intended for her to do this. The breeze rustled through the soft green trees littered around the facility, and even the mountains seemed to sway with them, their edges hard to make out as the blue peaks blended seemingly into the clear sky. There was a scattering of clouds that the sun easily broke through. It was clearly afternoon and the sun was already beginning to slip down the curve of the earth. Everything was bright, but never too bright. Warm but never hot.

Her breath was steadying out and she felt her shoulders beginning to droop.

Jiaying was watching her carefully as she slowly began to relax.

"Moira." She softly called out to her, wanting her attention but not wanting to shatter the peace she had arrived at.

"Hmm."

"Keep focusing on the mountain. But start honing into your brain. Powers are usually the hardest to control when an individual first goes through the terrigenesis. As you haven't started displaying any abilities yet I'm beginning to suspect you may need a specific trigger to induce your powers."

"A trigger?"

"If we have someone who can melt metal with a single touch, they would not know it until they came in contact with metal. Now, Fatima says you have a mental ability, not physical. You might be able to speak any language, communicate with a specific subset of creatures, have an increased memory capacity, hear thoughts..."

"How would that need a trigger." Moira interrupted.

"Well you've only directly seen and touched inhumans since you emerged from the chrysalis. Perhaps it only works on humans? Anyway, the point is until you understand how your powers are activated it is unsafe for you to be leaving the community."

"I agreed to one night." Moira said evenly, turning away from the view. "Use this time to figure out what you've done to me, not to buy more time to keep me away from SHIELD."

Jiaying looked as though she was ready to retort before thinking better of it. "If it's alright with you I am going to go get some materials and an inhuman who has not gone through terrigenesis yet. First we'll see if you have a reaction to them, then we'll see if you react to anything else I bring."

"Fine."

Moira turned her eyes back on the mountains while Jiaying left the room.

She barely noticed her come back in, accompanied by a middle aged man.

"Anything?" Jiaying asked.

Moira thought deeply, reaching out to the man in her brain but getting nothing.

"Try making contact." She waved the man forward to take her hand.

If the man thought anything was strange about the interaction he never said anything. He just stood politely while she held his hand, once again trying to activate whatever it was inside of her. With a brief spell of disappointment she released his hand.

"Alright," Jiaying said, making Moira feel that she may have seen her sadness. "Thank you. That will be all Franco."

Franco left and Jiaying sat again, putting down a pile of books and papers on the table between them.

"Now, to begin." She pulled out a few sheets of paper. "Do you understand what any of these say?"

Moira picked up the sheets. She vaguely recognised one as French, but the other two comprised of symbols that to Moira could have been anything from Greek to Korean.

"Sorry, no."

"That's alright. Well, I guess we can rule out mind reading and omnilinguilism."

"Omnilinguilism?"

"The ability to speak and understand any language." Jiaying explained, next pulling out a book. "Now I presume, being a field agent you don't know much about Roman literature."

"No."

"Good." Jiaying pulled out a blue leather bound book. "Read the first paragraph for me, quickly if you please."

Moira took the book from her and read the first paragraph on a random page. Before she could really process finishing the text, Jiaying seized the book from her.

"Can you repeat it back to me please."

Moira was about to explain how insane it was to expect someone to memorise something they had hastily read when the words began to flow from her mouth. "Meantime the Trojan sends his troops ashore: Some are by boats exposed, by bridges more. With labouring oars they bear along the strand, Where the tide languishes, and leap a-land."

"Excellent." Jiaying interrupts her monologue. "I take it your memory is not usually so acute?"

"No." Moira replied slowly. The words were still fresh in her mind, clearer than anything else she had ever learned. She had the overwhelming feeling that she would never forget them.

"Well, if we assume you can remember text, let's see if you can copy actions." Jiaying stood suddenly. "Do you by any chance know how to juggle?"

Moira hastily followed her, suddenly eager that they seemed to be understanding what her abilities are.

"No."

Jiaying scrunched up three balls of paper. "Watch me closely."

Moira followed her instructions and watched as she threw the three balls between her hands, how after a moment she started to throw them higher and wider. Reflectively she caught them when Jiaying threw them to her, but whether that was her ability or her SHIELD training Moira was not sure.

Without waiting for Jiaying to tell her to try, Moira threw the balls up in the air and stood fascinated as she mimicked the exact movements of Jiaying a few moments before. Once she had the movement she began to vary the routine, expanding and contracting the circle the balls moved in, occasionally throwing one ball higher than the others as she became increasingly confident in her abilities.

"Well I think it's safe to assume we understand your power now. Mimicry. I believe you can learn any subject, develop any skill. I assume the text has not left your memory?"

"With labouring oars they bear along the strand." Moira offered offhandedly. "I think I'll remember it forever. Everything I'm learning feels so clear."

"Yes. With these skills you could master a subject within days. You can be anything. A doctor, a physicist, a gymnast."

Agent Carter could show her any move. She could learn a hundred languages. She would be the best field operative in SHIELD. No one would ever think she was inept again.

"So I guess I'm not that big a risk to the community. There will be no problem going back to SHIELD tomorrow." Moira said confidently.

"Not quite." Jiaying answered evenly. "While your individual power is limited to the mind, and therefore the chances of you drawing attention to it is relatively slim, as long as you exercise restraint, don't forget like all inhumans you are now stronger and faster than you used to be. Something that could easily become apparent as a field agent."

"Well my superiors will know."

"And what will you tell them, exactly?"

Moira paused. After what Jiaying had done to her she was more than in her right to disclose to SHIELD everything that had happened since she met Dante Pertuz. But, thinking back to how she felt on the flight to Britain after telling SHIELD about the X-Men she remembered the feeling of unease, like she didn't have a right to disclose their secret. That, to be petty, she had put their safety at risk.

She thought of Dante and realised they were both now part of a community here, despite neither one of them wanting to be a part of it. They were unwillingly transformed. Not much different to mutants, who gained their powers due to a genetic mutation. Was she willing to potentially put Dante and others like him on the worlds stage. The world knew about mutants after Cuba. Could she protect the inhumans from the same treatment?

Hesitating she looked at Jiaying. If she told her she had any intention to disclose to SHIELD what had happened Jiaying may never let her leave. She had already told her that any memory wiping could potentially be erased. Without Jiaying's permission Gordon wouldn't teleport her back. She didn't even know where this community was, let alone how far she would have to travel to reach any kind of human civilisation where she could call for help.

"I'll tell them that I came across some kind of substance when I was following Dante. I'll explain what the crystal looks like. I'll tell them about the cocoon, but I'll say the crystal was gone by the time I came out."

"That will certainly make Dante look suspicious." Jiaying pointed out.

Shit, Moira realised. She still wanted to appeal to Dante to come back with her. It wouldn't be possible if she painted him as a person who wanted to trigger transformation in others.

"I could say they were destroyed after I transformed."

"Then why didn't you collect samples for them?" Jiaying continued to argue.

"I guess you have a better story?" Moira reasoned.

"You were following Dante." Jiaying begun. "You tell them about seeing Gordon around, though of course you won't reveal you know him. You tell them everything, right up to your conversation with Dante in the woods."

"And then?"

Jiaying thought for a moment. "First we should see if Dante has decided to stay here or leave with you. Gordon." She called.

Once again Moira's eyes were stunned by the flash of blue light.

"Would you bring Dante here for us."

Her eyes had barely recovered as he flashed back out and reappeared a few seconds later with Dante in hand.

"Hello Dante." Jiaying said. "That will be all Gordon."

He flashed away one more time. Moira groped for a chair to sit in as her eyes pulsed. She should start shutting her eyes when someone called for him.

"Dante." Jiaying continued. "Moira will be leaving Afterlife tomorrow morning."

Dante turned to her quickly. "Someone said you went through terrigenesis?"

"Yes," Moira replied. "Jiaying _dropped_ a crystal and I caught it."

He raised an eyebrow at her subtle accusation but said nothing. Maybe he got the feeling as well that there was a hierarchy here that wasn't to be crossed.

"What we want to know is, if you wish to stay a part of the inhuman community or take Moira's offer of going to SHIELD. If you leave you will still be able to return at any time. Both of you. Just call for Gordon and he will appear to you as soon as he is able."

Dante was quiet for a moment. "I want to go to SHIELD. You said if I didn't want to stay with them I wouldn't have to?" He asked Moira.

"No, you'd be free to leave at any time."

"Okay. Then I want to meet with SHIELD."

"Alright." Jiaying said evenly. "Now let's get our stories straight. It is _vital_," she emphasised to Dante, "that no human becomes aware of this community. It is the only safe haven for people of our abilities."

"We understand." Moira answered for the two of them, eager to get to the story so she could prepare to leave.

"You disclose everything that happened, up until your conversation in the woods. Dante still got his powers in the diner, an event I am sure SHIELD is aware of." Even if Moira wasn't. "Moira, you will say you asked Dante if he saw what it was that transformed him. Dante you will talk about the crystal that was dropped that triggered terrigenesis for everyone eligible in the diner. You will then say that Dante had picked up some remains. I presume you had something to store samples in?"

Moira nodded. "They gave me some sample bags on the off chance I'd need them."

"Good. You will say you asked Dante to put the sample in the bag so you wouldn't come in contact with it. He did as you asked but neither one of you accounted for the fact that his hands were still generating some heat. A small hole developed in the bag. You took the bag carefully from Dante and looked at the crystal but inadvertently came in contact with it. You will both emphasise that is was an unfortunate accident, and that Moira underwent terrigenesis, though of course neither one of you will know what the process is called."

"What about the crystal?" Moira asked, predicting what her superiors would ask her.

"When the mist is released it breaks down the crystal. When Dante was transformed only a small part of the crystal was left, which he took. When the mist released from it again the crystal was completely used up."

"Does that really happen?" Dante asked.

"No. But SHIELD won't know that." Jiaying answered.

"No crystals were recovered from the diner?"

"No. As soon as we became aware what had happened Gordon and a few other inhumans teleported to the site to see if there were new inhumans there. We took in the inhuman who released the crystal and took both with us. Dante, you had already left by then, that's when Gordon started tracking you."

"He can't just teleport to anyone?" Moira questioned, wondering how they would be able to summon him.

"He has to have the coordinates or know the person to teleport somewhere. Now he has met you both he will be able to find either of you, especially if you call for him."

"Alright. So if I keep to your story we get to leave." Moira asked.

"First thing tomorrow morning, exactly like I promised. Gordon will take you both back to Puerto Rico. You can rendezvous with your team from there."

"Fine."

"I would say we have to go over the story, but I guess that's not necessary now, is it?" Jiaying smiled.

"What do you mean?" Dante asked.

"Moira's ability is to mimic. Her memory is substantially expanded."

"Cool." Dante said.

"You on the other hand will need a little more work." Jiaying said, guiding Dante from the room.

**So should Moira lie or tell SHIELD the truth?**  
**For anyone wondering where the hell the X-Men have gone they'll be back in two chapters. Next chapter Moira and Dante will return to SHIELD, then Moira will encounter the X-Men again - who in the comics do not know at this point about inhumans. The comics have whole story arcs between mutants &amp; inhumans but Marvel can't do any of them because Fox owns the rights to mutants. In the comics some mutants enhance their powers by going through terregenesis.**

**Anyway leave feedback, let me know if there's anything you want to see! Thanks for reading! I know it's a long story so I appreciate anyone who's keeping up with it!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Sorry about the long delays! My dissertation work is hectic and I'm pretty sure it's slowly destroying my soul.**

/

The next morning, true to her word for once, Gordon transported Dante and Moira back to the same spot in the Puerto Rican jungle they had been when Gordon had first taken them to Afterlife.

In keeping with their story, Gordon had brought the stone from her cocoon to the jungle. They would take a small sample from her hand and leave the rest. A SHIELD team could collect it later and the remains would help validate her story that she had transformed in the jungle.

"Head that way for the nearest town." Gordon pointed before zapping away. Moira closed her eyes just in the nick of time to not be completely blinded.

"Are you alright to head straight into town to call SHIELD for transport or do you want to stay here a bit longer?" Moira asked. About half an hour before they departed Dante had been issuing copious amounts of smoke. Moira guessed he was stressed about his return to a country where he already started three fires.

"No, I'm fine now. The sooner we go the sooner we get to SHIELD."

"You sure you remember everything?" She prompted. As Jiaying had predicted not a single detail had faded from her memory.

"Yes."

"Alright."

It was only a short walk and they stayed quiet throughout. Reaching the village Moira left Dante on watch while she phoned in to SHIELD for extraction.

"They'll be here soon, there's already a team in the area on another mission. We'll head to the airport and rendezvous with them there." Moira told Dante quietly.

"What do you think SHIELD will do to me?" Dante asked as they walked, tugging on his shirt hem.

"Well they'll want to run tests on us both, see the extent of our abilities."

"Do you think I can be an agent? Like you?"

Moira spared a glance at him as they walked through the suburbs and towards the city. "It's a lot of work. But if you're ready for that I think SHIELD would be grateful to have you. With all the exceptionals that seem to be turning up lately, having someone with powers on our side can't be a bad thing."

"Are there any other agents with powers?"

"I'm not sure." Moira replied truthfully. She didn't even pretend to understand the scope and scale of SHIELD. "Unless we work together on a mission I don't see many other agents. I was trained to work alone."

"Well maybe they'll make us a team." Dante said cheerfully. "What was it Jiaying said about us inhumans sticking together."

She chuckled. "Working together to stop people finding out about us. Somehow I don't think this is what she had in mind."

They walked in silence for a few moments before he spoke again. "Do you think she's mad that we didn't stay?"

It was an interesting question. Moira had felt nothing but serenity from Jiaying. She seemed incapable of anger. But there was something about her that didn't seem right. Moira did not doubt for a _second_ that Jiaying would allow anything to happen that would bring harm to her community. There was a fierceness to her, buried underneath her calm exterior. She struck Moira as a woman not to get on the wrong side of.

"I don't think so." Moira hedged. "It's not like we could have gotten away without her."

"Still, something doesn't seem right about this. It's all too easy." Dante said, and she had to agree with him.

This whole interaction with the inhumans felt off. How easy it was to find Dante, how Gordon only took him when she was close by. How the crystal 'accidentally' fell off Jiaying's desk. How after only a day with them Jiaying let her _and_ Dante go, no problem at all, into the hands of an organisation she had gone to so much trouble to avoid.

It felt like she was being played. But to what end?

Entering the airport she was met by a suited agent who led Moira and Dante off onto the tarmac. It was a good thing a SHIELD plane could come get them, she doubted Dante had thought to bring his passport on his transcontinental run.

Moira had already tested her strength. Jiaying had told her that all inhumans were at the peak of physical strength and endurance and according to Jiaying that peak was around the same level as Captain America. The superhero. From WW2 stage shows and comics. That up until a year ago Moira was very certain was fictional. How Jiaying knew this she was not sure, Moira didn't imagine a fight with Captain America was in keeping with their low profile existence in Afterlife. Or possible given how Captain America had died twenty years earlier. Or was that a work of fiction?

Still. She was looking forward to seeing how fast she could run now. Moira was already confident of her durability. She had worked with Jiaying throughout the night and hardly felt tired. With her decreased need for sleep Moira had even more time to exploit her powers of mimicry to the fullest extent.

Sitting next to Dante on the plane she still thought it was a good idea to try and get some sleep before arriving back to SHIELD. Who knew how long it would take to explain to SHIELD what had happened during what was, unbelievably, only her first official field assignment.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Take a seat Agent MacTaggert."

With Dante huddled by her side, Moira took a seat opposite Rick Stoner, Nick Fury, Howard Stark and Agent Carter. Dante quickly sat beside her, looking nervous as he glanced between their stony faces. Only Howard looked like he was enjoying himself.

Stoner flipped open a case file before him. "Now, it says here that on your field mission to make contact with," he paused and looked up to Dante who was smoking slightly, "_Mr_ Pertuz. You were exposed to an unknown substance that you believe has given you abilities similar to Mr Pertuz. Is that correct?"

"Yes Director." Moira answered formally. The story was perfect in her flawless memory. She was incapable of forgetting a single detail.

"You believe you are capable of mimicry?"

"Yes Director. After we exited the jungle and came across civilians I began to pick up skills I was witnessing."

"Skills such as?"

Moira paused, as if she were reflecting, but actually she was quickly thinking which skills she could pretend to have gleamed from civilians. "I saw a man juggling and could immediately do it myself, despite never practising it before. I began picking up more Spanish, learned some tricks with a soccer ball." Moira smiled. "Besides that, my memories are clearer, I remember everything that happened to me since I came out of the...rock. Everything before seems hazy in comparison, like I wasn't taking in enough details. It's almost like my memories before are on old film whereas my new memories are so clear. On the way in here I can still remember the name tag of every person I crossed. Johnson, Ramirez, Parker, Kelley, Dixon. I don't think I'll ever forget."

"So you can mimic anything?" Stark interrupted. "You can pick up physical abilities, mental skills?"

Moira nodded. "Besides that I've found some traits Dante and I share in common."

"Which are?" Stark asked, not noticing the annoyed expression on Stoner's face as he hijacked the interview.

"Strength, speed, stamina. I've barely slept since the change but I don't feel tired at all."

"Well we'll have to run tests on both of you." Stoner said, before Stark could interrupt. "Stark will oversee them and we will convene afterwards to discuss his findings." Stoner pushed himself away from the table. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have other matters to attend."

Waiting for the door to shut, Carter turned to her. "Do you have any samples of the crystal left?"

"No." Moira responded. "There was only a small amount left after Dante's change, after I changed there was nothing left."

"Can you start testing now Stark?" Fury asked, turning in his seat to look at Dr. Stark.

"I can't see why not. I'll go get everything set up." Stark nodded before exiting the room. "Later Peg." He called as the door fell shut behind him.

"Is he going to be alright?" Fury said, pointing to Dante who had finally stopped smoking.

"I'll be fine." Dante replied, his confidence returning slightly at Fury's condescending remark.

"How long since you changed?" Carter asked kindly.

"I'm not sure. A few weeks. A month. I haven't been around people much."

"You don't have to run anymore." Moira said, laying a hand on his arm. "In fact," she smiled and turned to Carter, "Dante here likes the idea of being a field agent."

"Is that so?" Agent Carter smiled, noticing how the red flush left Dante's skin as he relaxed. "Well then you better get to testing so we can assess your suitability."

Carter glanced at Fury who stayed seated, clearly wanting to talk to Moira alone.

"Let's get you over to the lab, Agent MacTaggert will catch us up in a moment I'm sure." Carter said tactfully, guiding Dante from the room.

Dante barely spared Moira a glance before he started asking Agent Carter how long training would take.

"Was there something you wanted to ask me Agent Fury?" Moira asked politely after a moment under Fury's scrutinizing eye.

"I don't believe your story Agent MacTaggert. Now our audience has left I wondered if you would like to tell me the truth?"

"Sir?" Moira said, trying to keep her voice calm.

"I have a source that places a third exceptional in the area."

"Third?" Moira said, knowing he must mean Gordon and Dante but failing to identify a third.

"I'm including you as an exceptional now Moira. Dante was there, I believe he didn't try to turn you on purpose. But I know there was someone else there. Someone you haven't mentioned. Now you can lie to me, say you never made contact. But know that I will know when you are not telling the truth.

"I brought you here. I thought you would make a good agent, that you would be able to make a place for yourself here. I wouldn't want to be proven wrong." He leaned back in his seat, linking his fingers together as he watched her deliberate what to say. Really who should her loyalty lie with, if she only told Agent Fury how could Jiaying ever know that SHIELD knew about inhumans?

"I made contact with Dante when an exceptional I had seen trailing me earlier in the day showed up. He wanted to take Dante to a community of people like us and took me too."

"He waited until you were with Dante to take you?" Fury asked curiously, looking completely unsurprised by her admission.

"Yes. We were taken to a place called Afterlife. The man, Gordon, he could teleport. I have no idea where it's location is."

"What happened then?"

She repeated in detail everything that had transpired in Afterlife, Fury seeming to find Jiaying's actions just as suspicious.

"And she just _let_ you go? After what you had seen."

"I found it all too simple as well. I thought it might be best not to disclose anything at first, in case she was monitoring me somehow. I don't know what her plans are, sir, but she's up to something."

Fury nodded slowly, sitting in silence for a few minutes before speaking. Moira had started chewing her lip and nearly split it open when he spoke again.

"For now this stays between us. Don't tell Dante that I know. When Stoner gets back from his mission I'll discuss it with him but for now I think your suspicions may be correct. For some reason Jiaying wanted to turn a SHIELD agent into an inhuman."

"Sir. While I was there she also had some knowledge about my interaction with mutants."

Fury nodded again. "Yes. You're time with the mutants has certainly made you popular. We shouldn't rule out that it's connected. Perhaps she wants information about them. She thought if she could turn you she could get your allegiance?" His question was probing, he wanted to know where her allegiance lay now.

"There's something about her I don't trust. It might sound silly, but I feel like I've gotten caught in a spider's web."

He surveyed her for another moment before standing. "Don't tell anyone about this. Go for your testing. You can start training with Dante when you're cleared. His powers are certainly interesting. He could be an exceptional agent, given his _enthusiasm_."

Fury left the room and Moira sat, for a moment, contemplating everything they had talked about. With a sigh she was once again grateful for her expansive memory, at this rate she would have a hard time remembering which side she was really on given how many different sides she was working between.

/

**Agents of SHIELD isn't looking at the whole super strength, speed aspect much (it's hinted in her initial training scenes after the change that Skye/Daisy is stronger now but not built upon), I guess there are constraints with budget, plus an Inhumans movie is in the works and I guess they don't want to step on their toes. But in the comics Inhumans are at peak human condition, and Captain America is considered the peak human condition because despite the serum he is still human. **

**Agent Parker is a reference to Peter Parker's (Spiderman's) parents who worked for SHIELD before they were killed, leaving Peter to be brought up by his aunt &amp; uncle. I figured Fury isn't the kind of man to be fooled. Jiaying's plan will soon be revealed. If all goes to plan the Mutants should reappear in the next chapter. I know this is primarily an X-Men fiction but I wanted to build Moira as an independent character before sending her back to them.**

**As always let me know what you think!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Wow 20th chapter. This is now the second longest story I've ever written!**

/

O.A.Q (Observation and Quarantines) essentially translated to living in a goldfish bowl. Howard had set up his lab between both units, located in the same room. Dante and Moira were kept separate, though next to each other, while the O.A.Q monitored their heart rates, blood pressure and a spectrum of other details. Every day they were asked to perform multiple tasks to test their strength, endurance and individual abilities.

Moira had learned French, Spanish and Greek within six days. She wasn't fluent, yet, but she figured if she spent any length of time around someone who was fluent it wouldn't be long before she was too.

Stark was as fascinated with their shared abilities as their individual ones. They could both bend metal and break bricks with their bare hands. If Dante didn't incinerate his first.

Upon inspecting their DNA Stark uncovered that their DNA patterns had changed significantly from that of an average human being. He also theorised after studying Dante's results that he may be capable of limited regeneration.

"I'm not sure if you could survive an A-Bomb but I think if I chopped your hand off it would grow back." Stark said, not noticing how Dante instantly drew his hands behind his back.

"I think I'm alright being in the dark on that ability." He answered, making Moira laugh.

Stark had promised them that they would only have to spend one more day in the lab before they could move into ordinary barracks while they went through training. They had been required to spend seven nights in O.A.Q by Stoner, Howard left just before lights out.

"One of the lab assistants will sign you out in the morning." He told Moira, as Dante prepared for bed. "You'll go to Carter after that, see what she has planned for you." Stark snuck a look back at Dante. "Once Stoner lets you off base again you'll have to bring Inferno here over to my house. My kid'll love him."

After Dante had settled into their routine he'd soon fallen into an easy friendship with Howard. It transpired that when he wasn't having his DNA altered, running between continents, being abducted and later interrogated by SHIELD agents, he was a pretty laid back young man. The two had gotten so close that Stark had invented his superhero name, Inferno. Dante had then excitedly asked Moira if that could be his official code name once he became a proper SHIELD agent.

"Well I think SHIELD may have other, more important, uses for Dante than to be your babysitter." Moira mockingly admonished.

"Hey Stoner will do anything to keep me happy and making bombs for him." Howard winked at her, before turning to Dante. "See you later Dante, stay in touch."

"Later." Dante had waved before climbing into bed.

After quickly changing Moira soon settled down for the night, only to be shaken awake after what felt like a few minutes later.

"Moira." Peggy said urgently, shaking her by the shoulders. "Wake up."

"Agent Carter?" Moira asked, confused. She rubbed her eyes and swung her legs out of bed. "What's happening? I thought you weren't signing us out until the morning." The room was still pitch black.

"Director Stoner was killed this afternoon. Fury is assembling an emergency meeting and requested that you attend." She explained quietly, trying not to rouse Dante. Peggy passed Moira a change of clothes. "I'll wait outside while you change. Hurry."

Dressing in a frenzy, Moira stumbled out of the door, following Peggy to a nondescript conference room crowded with senior member SHIELD agents, many standing while only a few sat down.

Gesturing at her to wait by the door, Peggy went to go sit, not far from Nick Fury at the head of the table.

"Alright." Nick Fury said, quietening the mumbling room. "As you have all been informed, Director Rick Stoner was killed late this afternoon while on a classified mission."

"Do we have any details on the mission?" Carter asked.

Richard Parker, who was stood near Fury stepped forward. "There are no exact details but he asked us," he gestured to his wife Mary, "about our intel on remaining Hydra bases and Albert Malik, also known as Red Skull."

"Yes, we believe he was meeting with informants on possible information about remaining Hydra factions." Fury said.

"We ended Hydra a long time ago." Carter protested.

"Stoner found evidence that someone was attempting to restart the organisation. The individual was believed to have been a relation of Malik." Fury looked at Carter who had looked ready to speak before falling silent under his gaze, though still looking very prepared to storm out of the room to hunt down this last remaining Hydra agent.

"Until the council makes a formal decision, I will be interim Director of SHIELD. I'm placing William Collins and Margaret Carter in charge of the investigation. Agents Parker, you will both be on their team to provide intel."

Collins nodded in consent, and moved to stand behind Carter ready to begin. Collins had been a division commander who, like Carter, had fought against Red Skull during the War.

"Everyone in this room will be assisting in the investigation. I want intel on the assailant. No one rests until everyone responsible is brought in, do you understand." Fury said.

"Good, everyone get started."

Noise broke out again as groups gathered together. As the room began to filter out Moira remained by the door, knowing Fury wanted to speak to her. Carter hurried past her, giving her a small smile as she passed. Moira doubted they would see each other soon. Carter would scour the globe for any remaining Hydra agent.

"Agent 24." Fury summoned after the room had cleared. "I understand you've finished observation today?"

Today was a bit of an overstatement. The sun had still to rise.

"Yes Director. So has Dante. I was hoping to start training with him."

"Well it looks like his first training session is taking place in the field." Fury said, linking his fingers together as he leaned back in his chair.

"Sir?"

"I need you to go to Xavier. We're worried this guy may be trying to recruit powered people. Xavier is the only mutant contact that we have, we need to reach out before someone else does."

"Sir, they won't join Hydra." Moira said confidently. They wouldn't even join SHIELD.

"Perhaps. But I like to be prepared."

"Sir. He'll read my mind. He'll know I'm an inhuman now. He'll know everything."

Fury nodded. "I know. I think it's only fair that he knows. Given how inhumans know about them."

"And you want me to take Dante? He's had no training Director. Maybe I should leave him here, another agent can start training him until I return?"

"No. He stays with you. I know you trust him and he trusts you. However I am not yet confident that that trust extends to SHIELD. I'm not prepared to separate you two yet to find out. Anyway. Perhaps Xavier will have some useful tips on how to train him. He is a professor, after all." Fury smirked.

Moira nodded, knowing there would be no arguments. "I'll call and tell them I need to meet with them."

Fury shook his head. "No. I think a surprise visit would be better. They have already made it clear that they value their privacy, they might not be too receptive if they know you are coming."

"I'll brief Dante then we'll leave." Moira said reluctantly, turning for the door.

"Agent 24." Fury said as she twisted the handle. "Good luck."

/

**The X-Men will be in the next chapter I swear, I've already started writing it :D**

**In the comics Stoner was originally killed by a Hydra agent just after WW2. I've had to change the dates on some things, I know in the comics people never age but if I'm fitting everything in line with the films too some details need to change. Richard and Mary Parker were also originally killed by Red Skull but then Spiderman would have been a baby in the 1950s which is too early to tie in with the films so for now they're still alive and Peter hasn't been born.**

**As always I would LOVE some feedback, I hardly ever get comments on this work. Let me know if there's anything you want to see!**


	21. Chapter 21

Dante tapped his fingers nervously on his leg as the plane descended.

"Dante." Moira said sternly. "Try to stay calm. Starting a fire on a plane doesn't seem like the best idea."

"Sorry. I was just thinking about the whole mind reading thing."

"I don't like it either but there's nothing that we can do but accept it." She soothed. God knows there were times she wished she had Magneto's metal helmet to keep Charles out.

"I guess." Dante said, linking his fingers together to stop them from tapping.

His enthusiasm about going on a mission straight away had soon faded once she mentioned the mind reading. However some of it came back when Dante found the tactical gear Howard had left behind for them both. It looked very similar to Moira's black SHIELD issue gear, with the exception of the dark blue piping, however Howard assured them both that the material was flame and heat resistant so Dante wouldn't have to keep worrying about losing his clothes. And Moira would only have to worry about singed eyebrows.

"Are we heading straight to the mansion?" He asked as they taxied to the airport.

"Yes, there's no point waiting, he'll soon know that we're here." Moira answered, standing up as the plane came to a stop. She grabbed her bag and headed for the door with Dante at her heels.

"You know this is only the second time I've flown on a plane." He told her. "I kinda thought it would be more exciting, but it's just like being on a train but in the air."

They didn't have to walk through the airport, a car was waiting for them beside the plane. As they approached the driver exited. Only Moira and Dante would go to the mansion.

"Airports are quite dull too." Dante noted before ducking into the passenger seat. "How long's the drive?"

"Just over an hour." Moira said, as they headed for the exit.

"I think I'll have a nap, it's hard to sleep on planes."

"Okay."

Moira liked having Dante around. While she was enjoying her powers it was all still an adjustment. Dante probably understood that more than the mutants. They hadn't been born with this, it was thrust upon them both unexpectedly. Even the other inhumans at Afterlife didn't know. They had been chosen and willing to go through terrigenesis. Moira had been tricked to work into some unknown plan and Dante had been changed as part of an attack that had killed his mother.

Still, it was nice to have some silence, some time to think. She had no idea how receptive the mutants would be. She was fairly confident Charles would not object to her presence, she knew he wanted to talk more about what had happened between them. But she had seen how defensive Hank had been when she had arrived at the mansion with SHIELD agents. Moira knew the original team still felt betrayed by the CIA and were wary of SHIELD. What she wasn't sure of was how much they blamed her for what went wrong.

Moira had promised Charles that she wouldn't tell anyone of their location, said that she would withstand any threats. That she would protect them no matter what.

And he hadn't trusted her.

Moira was still at war with herself about revealing the mutants location. She still cared for Charles despite everything, despite hating herself for still caring. But _trust_ him? No, she did not trust him anymore. She trusted her S.O., Peggy wouldn't send her here without any back up if she didn't think Moira could handle whatever was in store. Carter was an excellent mentor and Moira thought, now that she was no longer her student, they could become good friends.

Charles on the other hand.

She had always felt out of place in his world. Maligned. Eric's behaviour hadn't helped. He'd treated her as nothing but a nuisance. Charles had cared but he was always so busy with his multiple projects. His need to fix people. She had never bonded with the other mutants. Somehow she didn't fit with them. Moira felt her presence had meant nothing to them - after all she was so easily thrown aside once the mission was all over.

Maybe they would find her more interesting now that she wasn't a lowly human.

_Moira, that's not true_.

She swerved the car before quickly righting them on course. Dante grunted in his sleep but did not wake.

_Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you._ Charles apologised. _I must say this is an unexpected pleasure. I am looking forward to meeting your friend. What a fascinating imagination. He's dreaming about dragons in a zoo. Most amusing. _He laughed before becoming sober once more. _You did have a place with us. And I did not throw you away, I wanted to keep your safe. And I must say I am very confused about why you don't seem to think you're human anymore. Has something happened? Let me see_.

He was going to scan her mind. Immediately she utilised her expansive memory. She started flipping through the languages she had picked up, translating phrases from one into another, into another.

_I don't recall you telling me that you spoke any other language apart from Russian, Moira. But I must say you are being very effective. I'm afraid, however, you are simply increasing my curiosity. I suppose I will just have to wait until you arrive. We will be expecting you_.

Was he gone? Moira wanted to take his lack of response as confirmation but she couldn't be sure. A back part of her mind knew that she didn't want Charles to know about her change until he saw her, that she didn't want to give him an advantage. She kept her brain focused on translations for the rest of the drive.

Five minutes away from the mansion she removed one hand from the steering wheel to shake Dante's arm.

"Dante, come on you've got to get up."

"We nearly there?" He said groggily.

"Yes. Xavier already knows we're arriving."

"How do you know?" Dante asked, straightening up with Moira's revelation.

"He spoke to me. I nearly ran us off the road." Moira said, turning onto the drive.

"Does he know about us?"

"No. I think I was able to block any information by thinking about something else. He saw your dreams though. Something about dragons."

She glanced at Dante, his mouth slightly agape.

"I take it that's what happened then?"

"Y-yeah. They were in a zoo."

"Well he found it very amusing." Moira said tensely as the house came into view.

"Whoa. He must be loaded." Dante said, obviously impressed by the estate.

There was a small party waiting for them outside the front door. Hank was back to his blue furry self, hands twitching. Alex was tense, though he did not look quite as ready to pounce as Hank. Sean on the other hand had a wide grin across his face and Charles looked ready to explode if he didn't get some answers soon.

Moira and Dante exited the car and moved to stand opposite the mutants.

"Dante." Moira started. "This is Hank McCoy, Alex Summers, Sean Cassidy and Charles Xavier." She pointed to each of them in turn. Only Charles stretched out his arm to shake Dante's hand.

"Dante Pertuz." Dante said, cringing a little as Moira imagined Charles mentally introduced himself.

"Moira told me you'd do that. Still a little creepy."

Hank growled at him.

"It's alright Hank." Charles said in his usual tranquil voice.

"Professor." Alex said tensely, nodding towards Dante's now smoking hands.

"How fascinating." Was Charles' only response.

Moira laid a hand on Dante's arm. "Just breathe Dante, everything's alright."

"Are you sure. The blue guy seems rather aggressive." Dante said out the side of his mouth.

"I assure you Hank is perfectly in control." Charles said. "Although don't let me stop you from using your powers. I imagine it's better that you burst into flames outside rather than in my study."

Moira jumped back as flames began to grow on Dante's quickly hardening skin. She suppressed a sigh. _No one_ likes having their mind read.

"You could have let him tell you about his power first, _Professor_." Moira admonished.

"All of him turns to fire?" Sean asked nervously, quickly taking a few paces back.

"And rock." Charles added.

Like throwing a match onto gasoline, Dante burst into his full rock form, fire breaking through the cracks, turning him into a towering inferno. Stark would be sorry to miss this, Moira thought.

A plasma burst shot from his hand into one of the stone topiary pots at the foot on the stairs up to the manor.

"Oh for the love of..." Moira sighed.

"Hank get a fire extinguisher." Charles ordered.

Hank growled and advanced, only stopping when Charles grabbed his sleeve to stop him. Dante moved forward in response.

Hoping that Howard was right about how flame resistant their tactical gear was, Moira moved to Dante's side. Dante never saw her, given how focused he was on Hank, or should she call him Beast in this form?

Just as Carter told her, Moira took a steadying breath, making sure her foundation was strong as she put the weight onto her left leg and spun to kick Dante in the side with her right. The strength behind her kick was considerably stronger than when she had been practicing with Carter. She probably would have caused her S.O. considerable damage had she had inhuman strength back during her training.

Being unprepared for her manoeuvre, Dante was thrown off balance and flew a good ten feet before crashing and skidding across the gravel driveway.

Smoke billowed off him as he came to a halt and gradually the flames died down.

"Are you alright?" Moira asked him, keeping her back to the X-Men.

"Yeah." Dante responded, waving the smoke away from his face, before brushing himself off. "Sorry about that, lost my cool. At least my clothes are still intact."

Not even a scratch.

"I'm sure Howard will be delighted to know." Moira deadpanned.

"What the hell was that?" Sean asked from behind her. "Did you always have super strength."

With a sigh Moira turned to face them.

"You're a mutant too." Alex exclaimed. "What the hell. Why didn't you say something before?"

"Moira is not a mutant, Alex." Charles said calmly. "She is something called an inhuman. Perhaps you would be kind enough to enlighten us, Agent MacTaggert?"

/

**Oh how I wish someone would comment. Is anyone reading this?**


	22. Chapter 22

**So I was wrong before, inhumans aren't equal in strength and speed to Captain America, they are slightly stronger and faster than him.**

**/**

"She is something called an inhuman. Perhaps you would be kind enough to enlighten us, Agent MacTaggert?"

Dante moved to stand by her side, brushing gravel out of his hair. "I really don't like the mind reading."

"I have yet to find anyone that does." Charles said simply. "Shall we all go inside and sit down? Hank you can change back, they're not a threat."

Hank grumbled before storming off inside, while the rest of the group followed Xavier as he led them to his ground floor office.

The room looked very much like Charles' original office on the second floor. The furniture was laid out the same and if anything the room was lighter as it faced the east rather than the north as before. Moira wondered if he was content with this room or if it irritated him that he could not use the old room anymore.

Sean threw himself into a chair while Alex hovered by the door. Moira unwillingly sat opposite Charles who had moved himself behind the desk. Dante, seemingly forgetting the situation, moved over to one of the windows, gawking at the large grounds and the students milling around outside.

"We have eleven students already." Charles said, answering Dante's unspoken question. "Although we are always recruiting."

"So they're all mutants, like you?" Dante asked, moving away from the window to sit beside Moira, looking around the room instead of at Charles. He flinched slightly as Hank entered, back to his human form.

"Yes, though I am happy to accept _anyone_."

Dante laughed once. "Thanks, but I'm already pretty committed to the idea of being a SHIELD agent. We get cool nicknames."

"So do we." Sean interrupted. "Tell 'em Professor X."

"Oh I'm sure Agent 24 already has." Charles smiled.

Sean snorted and looked to Moira. "Seriously they just gave you a number. That's lame."

"Is number pertinent to rank?" Hank asked, trying to get the conversation focused.

"No, they're assigned randomly, although some agents do get _code names_." She corrected. Nicknames made it sound like they were on the playground. Though here they technically were.

"Is there a level system?" Hank continued.

"Yes. I am a Level 5 Specialist. Dante was forwarded to Level 3."

"But you're not sure how many ranks there are." Charles filled in. "You are sure Director Fury is the highest ranked member."

"SHIELD is under the command of the World Council, but yes. Director Fury is the highest ranked SHIELD operative."

"And you are here because of Fury?"

Moira sighed. "Yesterday afternoon Director Richard Stoner was assassinated by someone we believe to be associated with a former organisation known as Hydra."

"Assassinated by whom?"

"We don't know for certain, but intelligence suggests the killer is a relation to Albert Malik, founder of Hydra."

"Should we know what Hydra is?" Sean asked.

"A creature from Greek myths." Hank saw Sean's confused face. "Snake like with multiple heads."

"Huh."

"Hydra was formed during WW2. It was a criminal organisation that aimed to achieve world domination. The organisation collected many powered artefacts, some from other worlds. After the war SHIELD set out to eradicate the organisation and up until yesterday we thought it had been successfully destroyed."

"You think it has been reformed?" Charles queried. "Even though it was your supervising officer that took them down?"

Moira scowled. "I think this is the work of an individual, perhaps a handful of people at the most, trying to bring Hydra back from the dead."

"And SHIELD is worried about our safety?" Charles continued, ignoring her hostile tone.

"In the past Hydra tried to build up reserves of powered people, Director Fury thinks they may try again."

"Alright. So Fury sent you both here - to warn us or to get us on your side?"

"To warn you."

"Not to restart Mutant Division?" Alex asked acerbically.

"We don't need mutants to take this person down." Moira said, almost snarling the words.

"Because SHIELD now has you and Dante. Inhumans." Charles said, arriving to the topic he was clearly most interested in.

"SHIELD consists of a large number of highly trained agents." She bit back. "Just because someone is human Xavier doesn't mean they're incompetent."

"I believe you are confusing me with Eric, Moira."

"I hear Eric is going by a different name nowadays." Moira said maliciously. "Guess your little pet projects don't always go so well."

Sean laughed. "How did you convince us to send her home again, Professor?"

"I believe there was something in there about protecting our location." Hank grumbled.

"Ah. So if Magneto didn't have Shaw's helmet you would have wiped his mind too? Or would you have just forced him to stay?" Moira quipped.

"I would never do that?" Charles said, a touch of annoyance colouring his voice.

"You had no problem freezing my colleagues at the CIA. You had no qualms about dismissing my team the last time I was here. And you barely hesitated before you wiped my mind."

"That's not true."

"Really? Because it seems to me you have absolutely no problem forcing people to do as you want so long as they're _human_!" Moira could barely keep herself in her seat.

"Moira, now is not the time." Charles warned.

"So I better stop, or, what? You'll make me?" She baited.

"I know you're angry Moira. And I am happy to talk about it. Believe me, I want you to know how sorry I am for what I did." She scoffed but he continued to talk. "But right now you came to warn us. And I'm still waiting for an explanation about inhumans."

"Or are you only going to protect your own kind and not us?" Hank asked.

Moira leapt out of her chair and was very prepared to attack Hank. Thankfully Dante's reflexes were as fast as hers and he quickly grabbed her arm, yanking her back into her chair which almost broke under their strength, the leg splintering slightly.

Keeping a tight hold on her arm while Moira glared daggers at Hank, Dante took over.

"Inhumans start as humans, but have a potential trigger in our DNA which is activated by a process known as terrigenesis. The process is started with a crystal which releases a mist. My change was triggered when an inhuman attacked a diner I was in. Not everyone survives the process, I think I was the only one there who did. The DNA marker that allows our transformation is alien. We were told, by an inhuman called Jiaying, that inhumans are different from mutants. Each inhuman has their own ability, like mutants. But all inhumans have advanced strength, speed and endurance. During tests I managed to lift around a ton. We have a longer lifespan. And our heart beats faster. Moira's got measured at 300bpm at one point."

"Alien?" Sean asked. "As in..." He pointed to the ceiling. "Green heads and UFOs?"

Dante smiled. "We don't know much about that part."

"So you turn to fire?" Alex clarified.

"And I can shoot it out of my hands." Dante nodded.

"And you can?" Alex asked Moira, who finally tore her eyes away from Hank to look at him.

"Mimic." Dante answered for her. "She can do anything she sees. She's already learned, like, three languages. And could probably compete Olympics level in gymnastics."

Howard at one point had left on old gymnastics tapes for her to watch. Dante was probably right, at this rate she could compete in every event and with her inhuman abilities she would win.

"How do inhumans know about us?" Hank asked.

"Jiaying said she saw about Cuba. And she's met one before. As far as she was aware though, mutants didn't know about inhumans." Dante said, letting go of Moira's arm as her heart rate slowed.

"This Afterlife, where Moira was changed." Charles started. "You have no idea where it is?"

"No. There was an inhuman called Gordon. He could teleport. It was surrounded by mountains and looked Chinese, but it could be anywhere." Dante sighed.

"Pity." Charles said as Hank moved forward.

"You say your DNA is different now. I'd like to compare it to the mutant strand, to see if what you're saying is true. But I'd need a blood sample?" Hank asked.

Dante looked to Moira who nodded once.

"My lab is this way." Hank said, leading Dante from the room. Dante shot her a concerned look before leaving.

"So." Sean said, as they left. "You've had a busy year."

"Alex, Sean, can you give us a moment." Charles asked, his fingers pressed to his temple.

"Sure thing, Professor." Alex said. "I'll go see if Hank needs any help."

"You don't have to watch Dante, Alex." Charles said. "He's not a threat."

"I know."

"See you later 24." Sean said, slipping out the room behind Alex, closing the door behind them.

**/**

**My idea with the lengthened life span (which is in the TV show &amp; comics) is that Moira would age slower, so in X-Men Last Stand that could be the same Moira. As a mimic she can learn to be a scientist like she is in the comics, and can mimic accents too. Just trying to tie all the films together!**

**Comments are love.**


	23. Chapter 23

**So I haven't posted in a LONG time. I got distracted writing a Lucifer fic, and my postgrad work just got insane. This is the first fanfiction I have written in two weeks, and it felt so nice to get back into it. I had actually started this chapter right after I posted the last one but for some reason I just got writers block and couldn't progress on it. Hopefully I will get back on track now. I was determined to finish it after getting a wave of kudos over the last two weeks on this story. Anyway, sorry again about the delay. Hope you enjoy!**

**/**

Moira stared sullenly at the door not wanting to look at Charles.

"How long have you had your powers?" Charles asked. She could hear him move away from his desk.

"Ten days."

Moira knew she was being childish, she wasn't sent here to hold a grudge. She was meant to try to forge links between the X-Men and SHIELD. Gritting her teeth she looked at Charles' shoulder as he came to sit beside her.

"You're showing incredible restraint all things considered." He said evenly. "Although I may have to replace that chair."

"You must be used to some wear and tear around here." Moira sighed, looking down at the splintered chair leg. It must be a good sign of workmanship that the whole thing hadn't collapsed when Dante pulled her back down. Maybe she should offer to cut him a check for it.

Then again maybe she wouldn't. It would probably cost her pay check for the month.

"Yes, you have no idea how many clothes Hank goes through with his transformations. On the positive side, Alex has stopped setting fire to his surroundings on a routine basis." She could hear his proud smile in the way he spoke, even as she kept her eyes trained on her hands in her lap.

"Dante destroys his clothes too." Moira responded conversationally. She knew she should keep the conversation focused on SHIELD and the new Hydra threat. But she also knew no ties could be formed while this tension remained between the two of them. And no matter how much her body protested being in the same room, she knew she had to stay.

"He's a very social creature, it seems to have done him a world of good being in your company rather than on his own."

She sighed resignedly. "Is there any part of his mind you left alone?"

"You could have told me in the car."

"You could have waited for me to arrive first!" Moira snapped, meeting his eye before hastily looking away again.

"Why can't you look at me?" He murmured, almost like he was asking himself.

"Because you make my blood boil."

She could imagine a sad smile on his face when he said, "But not in the good way, right?"

"I'm just. I'm just, I'm _so_ mad at you Charles. So mad."

"I understand that."

"And I'm not just mad." She wished she could look at him so he could see the sincerity in her eyes, but she just couldn't. "I feel violated. You were in my head, and made me forget, _weeks_. And apart from your word I have no way to stop you from doing it again."

"You do have my word." He said, sincerity dripping from his words. Moira could feel his body turn towards her. "And I wish there was a way to make you believe that."

Well he obviously could make her believe it. "I guess I believe you. Right now. But how do I know there won't be something that happens tomorrow that makes you decide Dante and I need to forget everything and be sent away again?"

"I don't want you to leave." Charles moved to grab her hand but she pulled away.

"I don't think you know what you want."

"I have missed you. More than you know."

"Not enough to fix things."

He sighed. "I thought I was doing the right thing. Now I think, if I had asked you to stay like I wanted,"

Had he read in her mind that she had wanted him to ask?

"we could have been happy. And you never would have been exposed to that woman."

She frowned. "Jiaying?"

"Yes. I saw her in Dante's mind, he's certain she tricked you into this. And I think, what if you had been like Dante's mother, if you hadn't survived. She was willing to experiment on you, perhaps not knowing what would happen."

"She knew I would become an inhuman. She said she had another inhuman who could sense the potential. Why she wanted me as an inhuman I'm not sure."

"To get you on her side?"

Moira shook her head. "That can't have been it, I still left at the first chance, and I think she is smart enough to have known I would. But she is planning something." She paused, thinking back to her conversation with Fury before coming back to Charles. "You said you saw her in Dante's mind, not mine?"

"No. Do you not realise what you're doing?" Charles said incredulously.

"What?" She looked at his chin, the closest she could get to his eyes without squirming.

"You're still translating. I can catch glimpses in your head when I looked a moment ago, but nothing makes sense. It's like you're operating on two radio waves and I can only flicker between the two."

As soon as he mentioned it she realised that part of her brain was still operating. Interesting, were her mental capacities really that expansive?

"You really didn't realise?"

"No." She answered slowly, examining her thoughts. She felt no strain thinking of two things at once. How many trains of thought could she maintain?

Moira filed the notion away for later experimentation.

Charles laughed. "You seem to be taking to your powers very naturally. I'm impressed."

"I don't care what you think." She bit back.

"Right." He heaved a sigh.

"You were reading my mind during the meeting. You knew about Fury and Carter."

"I made educated guesses from the last time you were here, from what I read before. And I was still able to read Dante's mind. _And_ I could still catch the occasional thought from you."

"Right."

Charles sighed again. "So. Hydra. What do we need to look out for?"

"They would probably approach an individual, not all of you."

"I'll make sure when the kids leave the house they go in groups." Charles nodded.

"They will probably want intel on where other mutants are."

"I don't keep any names on paper. It's all up here." He tapped his head. "Of course Eric has his own followers, and he knows the location of some mutants we failed to recruit."

"Have you been in contact with him since last time?" When he'd invaded the house, trying to kidnap mutants. Moira doubted he would work with humans willingly, but if it would further whatever his plans were...

"No, but I can get word to Raven, I know she is still in contact with him."

"Fine."

"I won't tell him about, _you_. I'm sure one day it will probably work in your favour to be able to have the element of surprise over him."

"Or yours. Was he attacking the house often?"

"Every few months or so to try and recruit mutants. He never converted anyone, I'm pleased to say."

"What does he want with them?"

"Well I can't read his mind, not while he has the helmet on. But there have been attacks on some well known geneticists, and on storage facilities housing radioactive materials."

"You think he's continuing Shaw's work?"

"Yes."

"SHIELD can help you know."

"Don't worry. The X-Men are on it."

Moira bit back a smile. "I thought you didn't like the name."

"It came up in conversation _after_...anyway, Sean liked it and it's stuck."

"Well we're still here if you need any help."

"I'll remember that."

She fidgeted in a her chair before moving to stand.

He grabbed her hand. "Don't go."

"_Charles_." She complained and weakly tried to pull her hand away but he just held on tighter.

"It's too late to travel back."

"It's only early afternoon."

"You must be tired."

"I'm used to travelling."

"That's not what I'm talking about." He moved his other hand to cover theirs. "You've been through so much. We both have. It would just be..._nice_, if you could stay."

Moira nodded.

"Besides Hank will probably want to run tests all day. He may seem hostile on face value, but he really is rather fascinated. The fact that Dante and yourself share common traits as well as individual abilities. You've only known each other for a short time and yet it appears you've formed a strong bond. Hank wonders if it's a genetic disposition."

"If that were true I wouldn't have left Afterlife. And I wouldn't have told my superiors about inhumans."

"You had a reason to distrust Jiaying. Do you think you will see her again?"

"Probably. I can summon Gordon if I want to go there. SHIELD will probably ask me to go at some point. But we're still working on a plan."

"I can help."

"SHIELD will handle it." Moira smirked.

"Well we're always here to help."

"Until you're not."

He paused for a moment before squeezing her hand tightly.

"I wish there was something I could do. Some _sign_, something I could _show_ you, give to you, to make you believe that I want _you_. Here." He added hastily.

"I guess it's something that will just happen with time."

"I can live with time." Charles stroked his thumb over the back of her hand. "I know you'll go back to SHIELD soon. How soon until I can see you again?"

Moira looked at his face. Charles was looking at their entwined hands, failing to notice she was finally looking at him.

"I can act as a liaison. Check in with you every month or so."

"Month?" He said unhappily.

"They might station me closer if they know you'll cooperate with us."

Charles sighed. He never used to sigh this much. "I'll talk with the others."

"You consult your students?" Moira asked.

"The eldest. But Hank, Sean and Alex deserve a chance to share their opinion. They can't see. They don't appreciate that you will protect us from the darkness of SHIELD."

"Fury is a good man." Moira insisted. "And so is Peggy."

"_I know_. But can you vouch for every SHIELD member?"

Her silence was answer enough.

"I'll work with you. No one else. And remember, if anything ever happens at SHIELD that makes you...well, you're always welcome here."

"I guess I believe that." Now that she had powers.

They sat quietly for a minute, relaxing as the tension melted from the room. Charles continued to draw circles on the back of her hand, only rousing himself when the clock chimed two.

"I suppose we had better see how Hank and Dante are getting on. No doubt Hank will have questions for you too."

"I'm sure Hank and Howard would have a field day together."

**/**

**Leave a comment and let me know what you think. It's nice to hear from readers, mainly so I know people are still interested in me finishing this after such a long interval in updating :)**  
**Kudos and comments are love people 3**


	24. Chapter 24

**So (once again, I am aware) I have to apologise for another long delay. I am now instituting a policy that I will write one chapter for this story then one chapter for my Lucifer story and write another for this, just so I don't abandon one of them for too long!**

**/**

Moira following Charles down a maze of corridors leading to Hank's lab. She'd never even managed to navigate it the last time she stayed here - always dependent on Charles to either take her himself or give her directions mentally when she got lost, trying not to laugh at her the whole time while assuring her that he had to help nearly everyone else in the group except Raven who had lived there for years.

Hank was still in his human form, which Moira considered a good sign. And there were no scorch marks which suggested Dante had been on his best behaviour too.

Sean had gone but Alex was still there, stood in the corner, surveying every interaction between Hank and Dante. The two mutants seemed to have taken to the role of X-Men very well. Always on alert. Treating every new situation as a threat.

"Alex." Charles said as he rolled into the room. "I can hear your brother looking for you. Something about sneakers?"

"He can wait."

"Well you might as well go. I want you to assemble all the older students anyway. I'll need to address them. Get everyone in the library, I'll meet you all there at three. Oh, and get the teachers too."

Despite looking reluctant to leave his post, Alex left to carry out his orders. It was strange, Moira thought. How the mansion seemed as much a military base as a school. The two functions strangely coexisting.

"Moira." Dante called out. "Have you seen Hank's feet!"

Looking down she noticed he'd taken his shoes off. Maybe Hank wasn't completely on guard.

"Yes. Has he told you how fast he can run?"

"Faster than us?" He asked excitedly, turning back to Hank.

"That sounds like a challenge to me, Hank." Charles smiled, moving over to the pair.

"Well speed was going to be one of my tests anyway. Guess we might as well make it interesting. Is your speed effected if you shift forms?" Hank asked Dante.

"Nah, just the same. Howard already did that test. I burned the rubber off the treadmill after a few minutes so we ended up having to go outside."

"Hmm, we _all_ had to go outside." Moira recalled. The plumes of black smoke had necessitated the evacuation of the entire building. Thankfully the fire was soon put out and none of the other experiments conducted in the science facility they were housed in were affected.

Still, Dante at least had the grace to look a little sheepish. He'd probably already paid his dues enough, being forced to evacuate after his clothes had all been burned off. At least Howard had managed to snatch a towel as they all ran out the room.

"Moira. Can I take some blood from you too? I want to see if there are any different markers distinguishing your DNA from Dante's. It could help me see if your DNA predisposes what type of ability you'll have after you go through the..."

"Terrigenesis." She finished for him.

He looked at her with burning curiosity. "I don't suppose you have any crystals?"

"Sorry, Hank. I couldn't even get any from Jiaying to take to SHIELD. Apart from the few that were stolen, and the one she _inconveniently_ keeps in her office, she seems to have them all hidden away." Moira answered, rolling up her sleeve as she moved over to sit on the table beside Dante. "I guess getting one will be my next target when I go back."

"You're going back?" Dante asked curiously, as Hank moved to tie Moira's arm and get a needle.

"SHIELD will probably send me back eventually. And I imagine Jiaying will eventually reach out to us too."

"I'll go with you right?" He pressed.

"Probably. Depends on our orders." She shrugged with one shoulder, careful not to disturb Hank as he began to take a few vials of blood. Honestly, between O.A.Q and here, she was starting to feel more like a guinea pig than a hu-Inhuman.

"So how many teachers do you have?" Moira asked, looking at Charles and trying to distract herself from the needle. Hank may be a brilliant scientist, but he had not yet mastered the human touch it would appear.

"Well, Hank here takes care of mathematics and science, Alex is just starting to take over training..."

"Training?" Dante interrupted.

"Yes, helping the students to test and push their powers. Discover their capabilities and limits. Not everyone has mastered control yet, and I've found even the students who think they do know everything about their ability can surprise themselves after a little work."

"And what do you teach, Charles?" Moira resumed, Hank withdrawing the needle and immediately whipping her blood over to the microscope after pressing a piece of cotton to her skin.

"History, literature and occasionally a bit of philosophy." He answered swiftly.

"You gave up on science?"

"_No_ \- I just find Hank's enthusiasm impossible to rival. No matter how much I enjoyed studying biology, Hank's passion for the subject never fails to shine through. He makes an excellent teacher."

Even with his back turned Moira could imagine Hank's cheeks getting a little flushed.

"You know if you ever decide to leave field work I imagine you could end up teaching every subject on Earth. It wouldn't even take you long to master them."

Moira narrowed her gaze. "I like field work."

"Oh, I know." Charles smiled. "But the offer's there if you ever decide you want to try a different pace of life."

"Well I can't imagine things get too slow here. Did Hank get around to fixing the jet?"

"They have a jet?" Dante looked around the room for confirmation. "This place is awesome. I mean, we have a jet too. Well, multiple. And a training facility. And an academy. And _lots_ of other facilities. But other powered people - not so many."

"There are people at SHIELD with abilities?" Charles asked. "Excluding present company, of course."

"There was someone." Moira answered, aware Dante didn't know the story. He was practically bouncing with excitement now. "Someone Howard worked with. It was some kind of experiment to produce an advanced human. It was run during the war, the super soldier programme I think it was called. It was supposed to be relatively successful, although it was only used on one man. I heard he died on assignment though, some time later, and any attempt to recreate the experiment failed."

That was the limited information she had on Steve Rogers, given the unreliability of the comics and the reluctance of her S.O. to tell her anything more.

"But no one at SHIELD currently?" Charles pressed.

"Hmm, not someone with their own abilities. But there are individuals who have developed advanced technology that has enabled them to do things humans normally couldn't. I've heard rumours of someone who developed a suit capable of shrinking to the size of a mouse, or bird, something like that."

"Mouse-man?" Dante laughed.

"Better than a number." Hank muttered, moving over to another piece of complex looking machinery.

"What other tests do you want to run?" She asked him.

"Well I'll want to test your strength. See if it's the same for both of you. Speed. Individual abilities. I can do all that while I wait for the results on your blood work."

"Hank, we already ran all of these tests, I can just tell you."

"Oh let him have his fun, Agent MacTaggert." Charles intervened. "Hank never likes to work with someone else's data. He's rather particular."

"Is it just me, or was that a definite opening for a race?" Dante jumped in, leaping off the table and jogging over to the door. "You have a track here too?"

"We can use the yard out back." Charles grinned. "Hank, I take it you're game?"

"You'll have to time us." He agreed, shrugging off his lab coat and leaving his shoes behind as he made his way over to Dante's side.

"Well I certainly won't be running." Charles said light heartedly, trying to ignore the slight flinch on Hank's face.

"I'll go show Dante to the field." Hank said, marching off.

"Hey, wait up." Dante called, moving off after him.

Charles let their voices fade as they moved down the corridor before turning to Moira. "Shall we?"

"Of course."

"Will you run too?" He asked as they made their way outside, much more slowly than Hank or Dante.

"Oh I'm sure Dante will rope me into it."

"Do you think you're faster."

"Well I'm a little vague on how fast Hank ran last time I saw him, but I think he may have the edge. It would be good for Dante anyway if he lost. His ego gets bigger by the day, and Howard certainly didn't help that."

Every time Dante displayed a new ability or skill Howard had proclaimed how 'cool' it was. The boy's head was going to end up eclipsing the sun.

"In that case then, maybe I should leg him up when he passes me by."

Moira laughed. "Don't do that, he'll probably burn your foot off."

Looking past the glare of the bright sun as they stepped outside, Moira saw Hank and Dante setting up a start and finish line, spanning the whole edge of the field. A few students were sat on the fence, watching Dante with some curiosity, which only increased when they saw Moira standing close to the Professors' side.

Making their way over to the group Moira instantly spotted Sean, however his friends must have been new to the school.

"Hey 24." Sean called. "What's going on?"

"Hank wants to see how fast we are." She explained, silently questioning him by turning to look at his classmates.

Sean soon caught on. "Oh. This is Scott," he motioned to a boy wearing red tinted sunglasses, "Jean", the girl beside him with flaming red hair who had shyly tucked herself just behind Scott's shoulder, "and Jubilee" the other girl in a jacket so yellow it almost disappeared in the strong sunshine.

"Scott." Moira looked back to the boy. "Alex's brother?"

"Yeah." Scott frowned. "You know each other?"

"Moira MacTaggert here," Charles took over, "worked with us just before the Cuba incident."

"Oh. Are you a mutant too?" Scott asked.

"Not exactly." She answered, turning as Dante called her over.

"Come on, Moira!" He yelled. "Hank said after this he'd give me a tour."

"Good luck." Charles smiled. He pulled out a stopwatch he had clearly picked up in the lab without her noticing, and stayed beside the kids as she made her way over to the starting line.

"Do _you_ run faster in your other form?" She asked Hank, as she took her place between them both.

"Hmm, there's nothing to say I can't run at the same speed in both forms. I guess I do find my other form more, _liberating_. Using my abilities certainly feels more natural then, so I do tend to push myself more."

"Yeah, yeah, this is fascinating. Let's _do this_!" Dante whined.

"Okay, Professor." Hank called out, as they all prepared to go.

"Alright. On my mark. 3...2...1, go."

Darting off Hank soon overtook them, though Moira managed to push herself ahead of Dante. Really, Howard didn't think there was anything to make Moira go faster when he had tested them both, except that she had been doing P.T. on a regular basis during her training which pushed her further. She had watched some tapes of Olympic runners but there wasn't really much to learn from it that she didn't already know from working with Peggy.

The mutants all cheered as Hank finished first by a good ten seconds before Moira crossed.

Dante cried in frustration at the finish line and rounded on Hank.

"I _bet_ I could take you in a fight though."

"Without turning into a human torch?" Hank asked dubiously, no doubt not wanting to get his fur singed.

"_Yeah_."

"Okay boys, I think we've done enough competing today. Besides, I'm sure Hank has less confrontational methods to test our strength."

"Tour first though, right." Dante said.

"Sure. We'll just head back to the lab first so I can grab my shoes and make sure everything is running alright then I'll take you around. I'll call out to the Professor when we're done." He told Moira.

"Call?"

"Yeah, the Professor's gotten pretty good at not listening to our thoughts but being aware enough of our consciousness to hear us if we call out to him. Then he listens and we can communicate. Anyway, you could come with us, I just presumed that..."

"No, no. You're right. I've already been around the mansion. I'll need to call in to H.Q. anyway to give them an update. Aren't you going to go to the library for the meeting?"

"No. I've already given my opinion on the matter. I'll see you later."

"Alright."

The two men marched off again. Dante's enthusiasm still ever present, despite being beaten.

"_Moira_." She turned to see Charles moving towards the house, surrounded by his students. "_I'll be going in to the library. Alex and Sean will be there, along with a few other students. Hank told me you need to make a call. Feel free to use the phone in my office, then meet us at the library. I'll guide you if you need my assistance. Just call for me_."

Moira watched him disappear before starting up the translations in her mind again. Couldn't hurt, at least while she was talking to H.Q..

Heading inside she was amazingly able to find Charles' office by herself, only encountering two young pupils who couldn't be older than eight playing together by the stairs on her way. Everyone else must have been in the library or upstairs.

Picking up the phone she called the number she had been given and was put on hold by Fury's secretary. Waiting aimlessly, the cord allowed her to walk along Charles' book shelves, perusing the selection. A whole case was dedicated to works written on genetic mutation. He was right. If she went through them all she could be a geneticist by the end of the week. It was an interesting notion really, one she would have to consider.

"Agent MacTaggert." Her attention was called back.

"Director."

"You've established contact?"

"Yes, I'm calling you from inside the mansion."

"And?"

"Xavier is currently consulting with his staff and pupils on setting up connections with our organisation. He's going to try and persuade them but has told me he will respect their decision."

"Does he have any conditions?" Fury prompted, sounding like he already suspected what the answer would be.

"He'll only work with me."

"I thought as much."

"Is there any news on Stoner?"

"Carter is chasing some leads. It's early days, but from the field reports I've been getting it seems we're already pretty close on finding the perpetrator. The Parker's suspect that Albert Malik's son is responsible."

"The man who took over the identity of Red Skull after Johann Schmidt died?"

"Yes. His son, Fabien Malik is now believed to have been behind the assassination, though we don't believe he actually took the shot. He lacks military training, mainly entrepreneurial, has created his own export business. Carter is working to infiltrate it now."

"You still believe they may be after mutants?"

"We had some red flags on Malik a few years ago that he may be attempting human experimentation to recreate the super soldier serum. If that's the case, he may be targeting powered people in an attempt to recreate their powers."

"Should I be warning the Inhuman community as well?"

"Quite possibly. Once you get back we'll set up a cover for you to go back and convey the warning. I'm aware you said that not all Inhumans live at their facility. Some may be in risk."

"Of course. I'll just wait until I get an answer from Xavier then I'll head back."

"Alright Agent MacTaggert. Good luck. Report to me once you arrive."

"Yes, sir." The line went dead and she set it back in its holder.

Stepping out of the office she headed back towards the stairs, figuring one of the children could point her towards the library.

"Hello." She said as she approached the room but she found it empty.

With a sigh she concentrated on emptying her mind and called out to Charles.

"_A little help_?"

"_Turn left down the corridor, it's the last room_."

Throwing up the translations she followed his instructions, tensing as she heard footsteps behind her.

"Moira." Dante called.

He moved toward her, Hank nowhere to be seen, before stopping a few feet away.

"Dante? I thought you were on a tour with Hank?"

"Oh, he needed to head back to the lab so I thought I'd come and find you."

"The blood work must be done then. I was just going to head the library and check in on the meeting, then we really need to head back to base."

"Well you go on, I'll meet you out front."

"Okay." Moira said unsurely. Something felt off, but she chose to move forward clearing her mind again in case she needed to get Charles' attention.

Approaching the library she looked outside just as Hank and Dante walked past the window chatting happily together. Looking back she saw the other Dante staring at her from the far end of the corridor. Quickly pushing open the door she walked into the meeting.

"Oh, look here's Moira, she can explain what..."

"Charles, Raven's here." She interrupted him, turning back and seeing the shape shifter was gone.

**/**

**So chronologically I know Scott, Jean etc. probably shouldn't be there until the 1970s, and this is just the late 1960s. But I need pupils and I don't want to make them all up so I'm just introducing them sooner but a little bit younger. Other students will include Bobby Drake (Iceman) who in the comics was in the original line-up of the X-Men, but the films changed his character to someone younger. Sean could probably be past school age already but again I needed numbers, so I've put him down as the eldest student. I figured he could just be studying new topics or still training, something like that. He doesn't really strike me as someone who would end up teaching.**

**Anyway let me know what you think. For example did you find the race bit too silly? I just wanted to make it a bit more cheery :P**


	25. Chapter 25

**Sorry I was late updating, I came down with the flu and I'm only just starting to recover. I started this a while ago and just finished it today. I'm going to say it's not the best chapter I've ever written but I'm feeling so bored and useless just sat around that I just wanted to post something so I can feel like I've accomplished something today. So forgive me on that.**

**/**

"Charles, Raven is here." Moira said, as she burst into the room.

The group was silent for a moment before everyone burst into action.

"Alex and Sean, get Hank, Dante and the other students back in here. We'll stay in here. Scott and Jean, close the curtains, everyone get away from the windows."

Everyone hastened to follow the Professor's orders while Moira hastened to Charles' side.

"She was just down the corridor a moment ago."

"Would you let me see?" He asked, pressing his fingers to his temple.

Acquiescing, Moira thought of the encounter.

"You told her about the blood test? Alex." He called out loud for her benefit, while he communicated with him. "Check the lab now you're together."

"Why aren't they attacking?" She asked, looking around at the students before jumping as the door opened. Five students filed in, followed by Dante.

"Someone looked like me?"

"I don't know." Charles said, answering Moira's question as he counted the students with his eyes as they settled down. "I can't sense anyone else in the building."

"Well can't you just look in Raven's head and find out where she is."

"No."

"Why not?" Moira asked irritably.

"I promised her I wouldn't read her mind."

"You're not serious right now."

Charles looked up at her. "I haven't lost hope that she may one day return to us here."

"She's loyal to _Magneto_, not you."

"She could change her mind."

Sighing, Moira gave up. "Fine. I'm going to talk to Dante."

Crossing the room, she grabbed the Inhumans arm and guided him to one side. "Fury wants us back."

"Why?"

"We have intel on the possible culprit. Carter is working to infiltrate an organisation to get more information. Fury needs us to go back to Afterlife and warn them."

"We're at risk too?"

"The Parkers' found information that suggests this new Hydra group may be trying to replicate the super soldier serum, and are targeting powered people as a new way to give people powers. If they find out all they need is a crystal..."

"I get it. Bad." Dante nodded. "Not all the Inhumans live at Afterlife."

"And they make an easy target. Which is why we have to contact Jiaying so she can warn everyone."

"Why don't we just call _Gordon_ now?" He asked, only whispering Gordon's name, not wanting to accidentally summon the teleporter. "Instead of going all the way back to base first."

"We need to set up a cover, what's been happening since we've returned. Also I don't want Jiaying to know where the school is. It doesn't seem fair for them to have the upper hand over the Mutants."

"What if they've been keeping tabs on us? They might know we're lying."

"That's why we'll keep our story as close to the truth as possible. I just won't be telling them how much SHIELD knows about them."

"I'm going with you right?" Dante asked, standing tall. It was very clear he wouldn't be willingly left behind.

"Of course." She smiled. "For now let's just see why Raven is here, see what Charles decides then we can head back."

"It's a shame, I was kinda liking it here."

"Well if they agree to work with us we'll probably be coming back to liaison."

"So this Raven. She's a shape shifter?"

"Yeah. She went by the codename Mystique at one point, I'm not sure if she still does."

"You know what she really looks like?"

"Blue. Red hair. She used a human form a lot, but after she started working with Erik she stopped using it."

"Blue?" Dante asked curiously.

"Yep."

"Moira." Charles called. "Hank found her in the lab. Shall we?" He looked at Dante. "Would you mind staying with the students? We still don't know whether she's alone and..."

"Of course." Dante asked.

"Just try not to set any of them on fire. It's only our clothes that are non-flammable." Moira stage whispered out the corner of her mouth.

"Oh ha, ha." He waved them off.

"Did you contact her?" She asked as they set off down the hall.

"No."

Moira looked down at Charles who seemed miles away. "You stayed in touch after Cuba?"

"She called once or twice to see how I was recovering. I never know where she is, so I have to wait for her to contact me." Charles said sadly.

"How was it - after Cuba?" Moira asked. What she really wanted to know was had he missed her as much as he had claimed to, but that seemed rather insensitive to ask when the man was clearly remembering losing his sister of sorts.

"A discussion for later I think." He frowned. "Raven swore she'd never come back to this house. I imagine whatever brought her here is important."

"Why did she go to the lab, do you think?"

"I imagine when you said about running blood tests her curiosity got the better of her."

"She wouldn't be able to understand the results though, would she?"

"No, but she probably knows enough from living with me to see they're not human samples. While she found my subject matter dull, I imagine she listened to me on some occasions at the very least."

Stopping half a step behind him before recovering, Moira contemplated the idea of Magneto learning about Inhumans. Jiaying would probably not be best pleased.

Charles nudged the door out of his way with his hand before pushing into the room with Moira right behind him, tensing in preparation.

"Raven. So lovely to see you."

Raven. Mystique probably fitted her more when she was in her true form.

Hank was fidgeting uncomfortably in the corner near the blood samples, looking slightly relieved once the Professor entered.

"Charles." Raven nodded, shifting as she took in Moira's clenched fist. "I didn't come here to fight, you know."

Reaching out behind him, Charles curled a hand around Moira's fist, smoothing it out. She flinched at the initial contact but allowed him to keep a hold of her.

"Hank." He said, covering over the awkwardness of the exchange. "Did Sean and Alex head back to the library?"

"Yes. I sent them back when you said you were coming over. I hope that's alright?"

Raven rolled her eyes. "For god's sake, Hank."

"Raven. It's nice to see you back home." Charles said pleasantly.

"This isn't my home."

"It was once."

"No. I just lived here." She bit back.

"Where's your home now." Moira intervened. "With the mass murderer?"

"Still giving away our secrets to the government, Moira?"

"Enough, you two." Charles said levelly. "Now you're always welcome, but I presume there's a reason you chose to drop in on us."

It took everything for Moira not to snort with disgust.

"Emma Frost is dead. She was killed yesterday."

Charles straightened in his chair. "What happened?"

"She was attacked. Looks like she died in the struggle."

"Do you have any idea..."

"Looks like they were trying to take her. It's no one we know, so I thought I'd come give you a heads up." Raven looked Moira over. "I don't suppose _she_ knows anything about this?"

Hesitating, Charles looked back at her, nodding his head in what Moira presumed was supposed to be reassurance.

"We think someone may be trying to target powered people in an attempt to...replicate their abilities."

Raven looked outraged. "They're after mutants?"

"We just got intel on this, that's why I came here. To warn you." Moira said.

"Or to lead them to us." She moved forward. "I'm sure the CIA would _love_ to have mutants working for them again."

"I don't work for the CIA."

"Sure. And I'm a natural blonde."

"I work for a subsidiary of the UN."

"Targeting mutants?"

"Dealing with the unusual."

Raven scoffed. "Unusual. That's what humans are to us." She turned to the lab equipment. "But maybe there's something unusual to both of us. That isn't mutant or human."

Moira squeezed Charles' hand tightly, trying to convey that he shouldn't say anything.

"There's an explanation for that."

_Charles_. She thought loudly. _What are you doing?_

_She'll trust you if she knows_.

_Does she trust you?_

_Well..._

_Charles, don't do this_!

"I'm waiting." Raven said.

"Moira was exposed to a foreign substance which has altered her DNA." Hank blurted. Honestly Moira had forgotten he was even there.

"Hank." She admonished.

"They know about us." He shrugged, failing to act casual. "It only seems fair."

Moira shook her head. "Which is why I told _you_. Not Lehnsherr."

"What are you?" Raven asked bluntly.

"Irritated." She grumbled.

"Inhuman." Charles answered, shooting Moira a stern look. "What we need to focus on is ensuring no one else gets attacked."

"What are you doing about it?"

"Moira's team, SHIELD, are working on finding them. In the meantime we need to reach out to known mutants and warn them about this. Make sure everyone is on their guard."

"That's it? Warn people. So what are you going to do when you capture them?" She looked to Moira.

"Learn what their aims were, what they have done, make sure there's not a larger network, then put them in the Fridge."

"Fridge?" Hank asked.

"High max facility."

"So you won't kill them?" Raven groaned. "Why? They'll just escape and kill more mutants."

"We don't kill potential sources of information." Moira answered her. "This man we suspect is well connected, he's valuable."

"He's killing people."

"People die every day. Why are you only outraged if they kill someone who has powers?" She snapped back.

"What's his name?"

"I'm not telling you that."

"Fine." Raven huffed. "Then I'll find out myself."

She took off out of the lab, Hank scrambling after her. "Raven, wait."

Charles sighed, rubbing his temples. "I should go after her. She could be useful in tracking this person down."

"I'm not giving her any information on this Charles. She'll just tell Lehnsherr everything and then we'll end up with more dead people on our hands."

"Just go back to the library and tell everyone they can stand down." He urged her. "I'll be there soon."

Releasing her hand, he quickly rolled out of the room, leaving Moira stood in the lab.

**/**

**Comments are love. I so rarely get any on this, but I do like to hear from you!**


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